Pathways of Fate
by SlyWolf
Summary: Pathways of Fate: In this chapter, Saria and Ness grow much closer while on the run from the pursuing evil. Also, the Pokemon Crew are heard from once again. But the first part's the real chapter. Please R&R.
1. The prologue

I do not own Super Smash Bros. Melee. I wish I did, but I don't. Nintendo owns all of the Super Smash Brothers. Any other characters that appear are owned by Nintendo, Nintendo's subsidiaries, Sega, or in one or two cases, Rare (Traitors)  
  


**The Prologue**  
  
_Part one: Requiem of a Hero_  
  
                The sun shone bright over Hyrule Castle, and Link's mood matched it. After years of waiting, he was finally ready to ask for the hand of his beloved Zelda. To top it all off, his friends Marth and Roy were also here and thus would be able to get to the wedding fairly easily. The sight of Zelda running towards him stopped his thoughts. "Link! I'm so happy to see you!" 

                "Really? I'm glad to see you too, Princess" 

                "Please, just call me Zelda" 

                "Whatever you say, Princess" 

                "Link!" 

                "Alright, Alright. Zelda, I have to ask you…" 

                "No. I need to speak to you. Link, have you ever thought about marriage?" Link's heart skipped a beat. 

                "Of course. Why?" 

                "Well so have I, and today, I just got engaged. Link! Are you okay?" 

                Link was shuddering, and a loud choking noise was coming from him. His ears quivered. She took a step towards him, but he waved her away. "Why, Zelda. How. wonderful.who?" 

                "Marth!" The loud choking noise got louder. "Link, I thought you'd be happy. And what is that horrible noise?" 

                "Oh, I am happy. Very happy. Very, very, happy" 

                "Good. The weddings going to be in two days. Isn't it great?" And with that, she skipped off. Link waited until she was out of earshot, than gave a scream of inarticulate rage, the scream of a man whose soul just died.  
  
                Later that night, a rider, dressed in a black riding cloak, rode away from the castle, his mind a mix of anger and hatred. He was watched as he rode, by someone both very near, and yet so far away, he might be on another world. The hidden watcher turned to another, saying "How ironic. The princess has left him. Now his soul is empty, and as we all know, an empty soul must be filled, given purpose. That purpose will be my purpose," The figure laughed, a booming frightening cackle.  
  


_Part two: A Toadstool amongst the Truffles_

  
                "Mario! Look out! Bowsers coming for you" The green suited plumber watched, helplessly, as his brother turned around, clearly not ready. Luigi ran forward, catching Bowser by the tail, and swinging him around. The big, green, spiky turtle was tossed into a wall, and Bowser screamed in pain as tons of rubble fell on him. 

                The cell door opened, and Peach ran forward. Luigi stood still, waiting to be kissed, but she pushed right past him and hugged Mario, saying "My hero!" 

                "Oh, but I saved you." But it was too late. Peach dragged Mario out, neither of them noticing Luigi. He sighed, and turned to follow them, when he heard a rumble. 

                "Fool" The green suited plumber turned around. Bowser was pulling himself up. Luigi tensed himself for a fight, but none seemed coming. "Don't you see, Luigi? No matter what you do, Peach will never love you, and Mario will never thank you. And the question I ask you is, why?" 

                "I don't know. Probably because he's the older brother, and I'm the tall and gangly younger brother." 

                "And if there was another way? A way to take revenge on your brother, and to steal the princess's hand in marriage?" 

                "Know you of such a way, Bowser?" 

                "I do. My way. Think, Luigi. Together, we can conquer not just the Mushroom Kingdom, but also the whole world!" Luigi considered his options. If he went back, he would be forced to go through yet another heroic ceremony, with medals, and kisses for Mario, but nothing for him. If he stayed, then here was someone offering him a chance to get his own back. It was a choice between the evil koopa, and becoming that which he had fought against, and staying good and being ignored, while Mario married the princess. For Luigi, there was no choice. 

                "Very well, Bowser. I accept your generous offer. But how do we keep my hated brother from realizing my treachery?" 

                "Like this, my new ally, like this.."  
  
                Behind Mario, the castle exploded. He didn't notice, just said, "Well, Luigi, that was a big explosion, huh? Luigi?" He and Peach ran back. Where Bowser's castle once stood, a deep crater now lay. Just outside the blast radius was a pair of workman's boots.  
  


  
Who is the hidden watcher? What ramifications does Zelda's marriage have for the four Hylian nations (Hyrule, Termina, Labrynna, Holodrum)? Well, I'm not going to tell you. Be patient.  
  
Tide of Destinies is A SlyWolf Industries Production


	2. Warlords

I do not own any Super Smash Brothers. All other characters are owned by Nintendo, except for Arryl and Keller, which are mine. By the way, this is 5 yrs later  
  
**Chapter one: Warlords**

_Part three: Bringers of darkness_  
  
Marth threw the ball to his daughter, Arryl. She giggled, and ran after it. A typical family scene. Shortly after the birth of his first grandchild, King Harkinian of Hyrule died, leaving his daughter, Zelda, and her husband to run Hyrule. The two ruled wisely, and under their guidance, Hyrule had grown strong. But it was not with out its enemies, and several of those enemies were watching this scene…

            "Enough of this, Keller!" An orange gauntlet crashed upon the table, causing the crystal ball to rock. "Have you brought us here to taunt us? To insult us with images of what we cannot have?" 

            "Patience, Onox. I brought you here to show you images of what will soon be ours, not to insult you. To be honest, I would just as soon not have you here. I have reading to catch up on. Now calm down, we're just as annoyed as you are. I can't imagine what's taking Lord Ganon." 

            Majora interjected with, "Perhaps while we're waiting we should review our readiness for battle?" 

            "Besides, all true villains are fashionably late, right?" Veran said.  
  
            Onox, General of Darkness, looked around him at his allies. Heh. His allies. The only thing that the 4 of them had in common was their obedience of Ganondorf. He thought of the people who he had surrounded himself with. Veran. The so-called queen of shadows, she harbored little good will for the general, and probably hoped that Ganondorf would kill him. And Majora. At first, he had thought that the purple, spiked mask was little more than a decoration, a view that Majora had quickly eliminated by unfolding its tentacles and grabbing a drink. And finally, Keller, whose tower this was. Possibly the most powerful of the four, he seemed possessed of some deep hatred, and his eyes glowed a dark red under his helmet and cowl. Of course, Onox was no ordinary person either. He was dressed constantly in orange armor, and no one outside of his fellow lieutenants had ever seen his face. A sudden sound jolted him out of his reverie. Keller was staring at him. He tried to recall what Keller had said. Something about a battle. 

            "I said, are your forces ready to take Holodrum? We must move in unison, so as to prevent any united defense." 

            "I'm ready. Why? Have you received orders from Ganon?" 

            "You have now." The picture in the crystal ball changed. Instead of the peaceful scene before, a new picture appeared. This was of a horrific place, all lava and screaming. Behind his helmet, Onox smiled. Home sweet home. "Your orders are simple. Onox, you are to take over Holodrum. Do what you want with the royal family, but ensure no chance of a rebellion. That goes for you too, Veran. You must have control of Labrynna quickly. Don't fail me. Majora, do what you do best. Just try to avoid smashing Termina to hear the sound it would make. Keller. I want you to take over Hyrule. Throw the royal family into their own dungeons, but don't harm the princess. She is vital to all future plans. Understood?"  
  
            Veran cackled, "I'll do it. Finally, I shall have my revenge!" She then laughed demonically. Keller and Onox looked at each other, and shook their heads, each hoping for a time when this madwoman would no longer be necessary. 

            Majora laughed, a hollow, watery laugh. Then he said, "I will do my best, Lord Ganondorf" 

            Onox nodded his assent. "As soon as the order is given, my forces will move. Within 3 hours, I will be speaking from the throne of Holodrum." Keller's eyes flashed. 

            Then he said, "I will fulfill my mission. Don't worry about it. Within days, Hyrule castle will be rubble and the temples burned. And then, I will be king, and you will be emperor of all the Hylians."  
  
Ganon looked at his lieutenants. The best at what they did, he had no qualms about leaving them in charge of his armies. If all went well, he would soon be able to walk the Light world once more. It's purpose finished, the crystal shattered. The four lieutenants sat calmly for a couple of minutes. Then, acting to some internal voice, they all threw back their heads and laughed at the fate about to befall the fools of the four nations..  
  


_Part 4: Brother, my Brother_  
  
Mario was sitting on what was left of the castle walls. He tried to remember what had happened… 

            "Mario! The castle is under attack!" Mario looked outside. Koopas reached as far as the eye could see. Toads were dying in their hundreds as the great army smashed into the defenses. He ran to Peach, hoping to get her out of danger. "Peach! We have to go! Bowser's entire army is out there!" 

            "Right. To the pipe system!" A toad ran in. 

            "Princess, they've breached the castle waUrk" A koopa ate it as 2 Hammer throwers, and a magikoopa ran into the room, followed by a familiar figure. 

            Luigi strode in. His blue overalls had been traded for black ones, and his pastel green traded for olive. "Well, Mario? Like my new clothes?" He snapped a finger. Two burly Goombas walked in. "Take the princess to Lord Bowser's pavilion. Mario and me are going to catch up on old times. Right, bro?"  
  
            That had been 2 hours ago. Mario couldn't quite remember what had happened afterwards. But now, he needed to leave. To find allies and defeat Bowser, he would go to the one place where goodness reigned, and the people would gladly aid him in defeating any evil, no matter how distant it was. Hyrule.  
  
  


Thus concludes the first chapter of Pathways of Fate. While it might seem light now, it will soon grow dark. Why does Ganondorf need Arryl? When will we see the other smashers? Who is Keller? Find out in chapter two of Pathways of Fate: The Fall of a Citadel.  
  
Tide of Destinies is A SlyWolf Industries Production


	3. The fall of a Citadel

**Chapter Two: The Fall of A Citadel**  

_Part 5: Four Horsemen  
_  
In the very center of the Hylian Lands, where the 4 deserts meet, are the ruins of a great city. This is the city of Hylia, and it has lain in ruins for over 3000 yrs. It was destroyed in a magical calamity so large that not only was the city destroyed, but also the fertile lands surrounding it were turned to dust. Over the years, many people have tried to restore civilization to this land. Such as the Ikanans, who prospered for a time, but then decided to attempt to gain access to an ancient tower, or the Gerudo raiders, whose genetics have been so magically warped that their race is now almost certainly doomed. So twisted and wicked has the place become, that even Moblins would sooner cut off their legs than enter it. Nevertheless, there are signs of life. Treasure hunters, mages, and now, a vast army, made up of hundreds of thousands soldiers, including traitor Hylian Knights (Darknuts); moblins; Stalfos and dinofos. All the evils of the world are gathered here, as their four masters begin preparations for the conquest of all goodly realms, anywhere on the planet.  
  
            "By the goddesses, I'm glad I don't have to organize this whole army. The logistics for my men alone are crazy!" Onox looked at the report from his underlings like any other Hylian would look at a suggestion that they remove their own ears. 

            "You should do what I'm doing, Onox", Keller said over the top of his own paperwork. "Take a 200 man force of Darknuts and 5 Iron Knuckles, attack the capital, and after that's secured, teleport in the rest of your army" 

            "That all hinges on you taking the capital. I prefer to be sure." Onox looked around. Majora was floating over a table, yelling instructions at an illusion from his chief officers. Veran was nowhere to be seen. "Where is that lunatic, Veran? Has she done any planning whatsoever?" "No. And she's not going to. I delegated her plan making authority to one of her subordinates." 

            "Ha. I don't know what King Ganondorf was thinking when he saddled us military men", Majora coughed, "and interdimensional, god-like, tentacled mask-things, with her." 

            "I was thinking of the greater bad. Sometimes the most useless people are the most useful." Ganondorf strode into the room. Or at least that was how it appeared. When his 3 lieutenants finally found their wits, they realized it was just an illusion. "I already informed Veran, and she has left. The attack begins A.S.A.P, I.E.N" 

            Majora raised a tentacle. "Um, we understand A.S.A.P, but what is I.E.N?" "I.e. Now!" With that, he disappeared. The 3 of them stood up, and ran outside to their men.  
  
            It was 5 o'clock in Hyrule city. King Marth and Queen Zelda were addressing the council of nobles in the throne room. Surprisingly, considering the importance of this meeting, security was very lax. Or not, because Hyrule City (A large town north of Death Mountain, reachable through Kakariko pass) had never, ever, fallen to enemy forces. Safety breed's complacency, as the Hylian proverb goes. All of a sudden, a guard ran into the meeting. "We are under attack! Traitor knights in the castle!" 

            There was a sound a lot like Twang and he fell down dead, a Darknut arrow through his chest. 50 armored warriors strode into the room, and formed into two military rows, one on each side of the door. 4 Iron Knuckles walked in, then stepped aside, 2 on the left and 2 on the right. Finally another armored figure walked in. Dressed in black chain mail, a black iron mask, and a cloak with the cowl (Black, of course) pulled up, the only parts of him visible were his glowing red eyes. "I trust that I'm not interrupting anything important? No? Good. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Lord Keller. Hyrule is now mine." 

            There was a stunned silence. In it, Keller carefully strode up to Marth, and removed the crown from his head. "I don't think you need this any more, 'your majesty'" 

            Marth unsheathed his sword and thrust it at Keller. There was a brief movement, a loud pop as air was displaced by the incredible speed of Keller's dagger, and then a keening noise as Marth's powerful blade, Falchion, carried by Anri himself, was sliced in two. 

            "Oh dear. The weakest of my weapons destroyed your strongest." Keller snapped his fingers. The 4 Iron Knuckles marched forward and grabbed Marth and Zelda. He then turned to address the nobles. "Any of you going to try anything heroic?" The assembled worthies shook their heads. "Good. Now some of you I may kill. Others will just be demoted. But, if you want to keep your jobs, _and_ your life, then bow before your new king." They all bowed, but for a small minority of about 10. 

            An old man stood straight and tall amongst them, and said; "I will never bow before an impostor!" Keller made a quick hand gesture. Three Darknuts strode over to the patriarch, and stabbed him, and then the other recalitrants. Keller laughed and said; 

            "Oh, dear. I'm afraid that because of that old fool, all of your loyalties are suspect. Pity, because I was going to have lots of land to hand out. Guess you will all have to die. 

            Unless.." Keller made a Eureka gesture, "Unless, does one of you know where Princess Arryl is right now?"  
  


_Part 6:Shattered Innocence_  
  
            Impa was preparing her young charge for bed when all of a sudden there came a knock on the door. Arryl went to open it, but Impa, with her finely tuned Shiekah instincts realized something was wrong. Shoving the princess behind her, she carefully moved to open the door. Too slowly, as it turned out. The unoffending portal was sliced open, and several men strode in. "Oh dear. And it was such a nice door, too" The dark-armored one sheathed his sword. 

            "Who are you? I warn you, there are several guards near by" Impa said menacingly.

            One of the blue ones dropped several weapons. "Met them. Now hand over Arryl." 

            "I most certainly will not." 

            "Yes you will. Know why?" Keller handed Impa a crystal globe. 

            She took a long look into it. "Its Kakariko village." 

            "That's right. Home of your race" He snapped his fingers. An image appeared in midair, of a Darknut Commander. Behind him, massed on a dark plain, was a huge army. "Commander. Know you of Kakariko Village? On my signal, take 700 men, go there, kill everyone, burn the village, salt the ground, defile the graveyard. Any questions?" The commander shook his head. "Good. You, Impa? If it makes things easier, I promise I will not harm the child." 

            Arryl stepped forward. She was about to say something when one of the Darknuts grabbed her. Keller shook his head. 

            Impa said, "Now you have her. You promised not to destroy Kakariko when you had her" 

            "No, I think I would remember that" He pulled out a dagger. "In fact, I remember something else. I told my man to wait for a signal. But look at it this way. As long as you live, Kakariko is safe." His voice took a harsh turn. "As long as you live." 

            He moved forward. Impa had spent her entire life training in combat. But no matter how good she was, there was no chance that she would be able to defeat Keller unarmed. There was just a slight groan, and Impa folded up on a blade that had appeared between her shoulderblades. The commander nodded, and he and some of his men disappeared. And Arryl began to cry.  
  
What will happen next on Pathways of Fate? When will we see Mario again. What Is Arryl needed for?  
  
Please review.  
  
Pathways of Fate is a SlyWolf Industries Production


	4. Escape from Kokiri Forest

I own no characters mentioned here. (Not even Arryl any more, since Nintendo released Wind Waker here in Australia)  
  
**Chapter 3: Escape From ****Kokiri**Forest** **

_Part 7: A burning wood_  
  
A green pipe rose up from the ground in Kokiri forest. Mario jumped down and took his bearings. Link had told him about the forests of Hyrule, and how dangerous they were to outsiders that had lost their way. This place seemed safe enough, there were even buildings around him, and small children ran back and forth between them. He strode forward, and grabbed one, a green-haired girl, asking;  


            "Pardon me, but where am I?" The child was about to answer when all of a sudden one of the houses caught on fire. A black portal appeared near the burning ruins, and several figures strode out. The girl screamed. Mario recognized none of the creatures. There was a floating bird-like thing in a yellow mask that kept opening up more portals, from which ran several pig- like things. An armored figure strode out, wearing gray armor, and carrying a sword that dwarfed Mario.  


            "Capture them all! And then, find the largest tree in this forest, the one with a face, and chop it down! Do you understand, pitiful moblins?"  


            "Yes sir!"  


            "And one last thing. Any girls with green hair are to be sent back to the base. Can you manage that? If not, then tell me now, and I'll handle it myself"  


            "Sir, we can handle it!"  


            "Good" The armored figure and the bird disappeared. The girl started to cry. Mario was at a loss, so he just picked her up and ran. As they fled, a small glowing light fell out of her pocket, and floated up in front of him.  


            "Hey! We can't leave this way! Quickly! Run down that passage. We have to warn the great Deku Tree!"  
  
_Part 8:Explanations_  
  
Mario had dealt with fairies before, so he decided that listening to it was the best course of action. He turned down the passage and ran into a glade. In this glade was the largest tree Mario had ever seen. The girl softly said; "Put me down now, please"  


            When she was back on the ground, she brushed herself off and said, "Great Deku Tree, we are in danger! What can we do?"  


            A loud voice answered her, coming from the branches "Do not worry. I am safe. No weapon in the world can pierce me. But you, my child, are in terrible danger. A great evil has come to this world, and your power is needed to combat it. Therefore, I grant to you this ring, which will allow you to leave this forest", and a green glowing stone appeared on her finger, "And charge you, Saria, and you, Mario, to go and find the one who can save this universe. For I can see that all the evils, everywhere, are uniting."  


            Mario asked, "To find Link, you mean? But he disappeared 5 years ago. Where would we look? And how do you know my name?"  


            "Ah, Mario, would that I could tell you otherwise, but Link is dead. Dead at the hands of Lord Keller, prince of evil, and now king of Hyrule, subservient only to Ganondorf himself. As for the second question, it's written on your shirt." Saria started to cry again, but Mario was too smart to fall for that. The tree was skirting around something, and Mario knew that Link was not dead. Somehow, Link never died.  


            "You're lying, I can tell. You really mean that Link and Keller are the same person, don't you? Link got twisted to evil when Zelda married Marth, and now he's probably leading an army through Hyrule Castle town, burning down all that he used to protect, right? Nah, that's silly. What you really mean is.Ow!" A root had risen up from the ground and smacked into him with an incredible amount of force. Saria started crying even louder, and then she bit him.  


            "How dare you say that about Link! He was a hero, and now here you are, mocking his sacrifice! He died with dignity, and I'm sure that the princess marrying someone besides him would not destroy his heroic spirit. Right, great Deku Tree?" There was a questioning tremor in her voice. The Deku tree started shifting about, as if it was trying to work through something. Finally it sighed and said,  


            "Thank you, Mario. I was trying to spare her the pain, but you just had to put in your two cents. Saria, you are wrong on both counts. Maybe when he first set out he was a hero, but eventually even the greatest heroic spirit can be dampened with cynicism. Soon after he returned from Termina, he started acting less for the greater glory of Hyrule, and more out of enlightened self-interest. He became more mercenary in his actions, and started plotting to find a way to marry the princess. Before he left Hyrule, he was self-effacing, when he returned, he was a glory hound. Accepting knighthoods left and right, getting himself appointed chief of security at the palace, all in the name of getting the princess to marry him. However, court protocol said that any marriage request had to come from the higher-ranking person. Then there was that tournament. You saw both his forms there, did you not?" Mario nodded. That had been a fairly bizarre occurrence, "Well, you must have noticed how they avoided each other, and how Link could never stand his younger self's gaze, and incessant questions about future adventures, and romance. That was not done out of regard for quantum mechanics, or laws of physics, or some wish not to upset time, but because Link, both of them, could not bear to look at or consider what they had been, or what they would become. And finally, that wedding. Link had a choice between pretending to be happy and hiding his discontent, or leaving. So he left, just like Luigi. But unlike Luigi, he is not currently acting out of misplaced anger and jealousy, but instead, out of hatred, and an urge to destroy all that is light and good, for it has become anathema to him. Saria, cease you're crying. The time has come for me to send you on your way. Step into this portal, both of you.,.."  


            A portal appeared that showed an image of a valley. Mario and Saria stepped in, and disappeared. The great Deku tree listened as the sounds of Moblins drew closer. He knew that he should not have lied to Saria in regards to his invincibility, but what could he have said? He made his peace with the goddesses, and then prepared to die..  
  
            

            Whew, that was a long chapter. Next time, more of the smashers will start to appear, starting with Roy, who has a very cunning plan to free Marth from Keller's (Alright, yes, he is Link, but I'm going to keep calling him Keller because that's who he is now, Link was a hero, Keller is a villain) grasp. Actually, I don't think Link is actually Link's name. In almost all of the games, he was orphaned at birth. Maybe his original parents had a different name for him. Why don't we ever see them?  
  
            "Hey! Stop ranting! We have a story to do!  


            That was Roy. Roy, go away, or your cunning plan will involve you wearing woman's underwear. For the last time, I'm not a girl, so I can't be fangirl. Now shoo.  


            "Just checking. Sheesh, SlyWolf. You can't know what its like, constantly being humiliated."  


            My editor is a girl. Go pester her about the silly things fangirls do.  


            "Can do" Right. Now that that's sorted out, I can cut this loose.  
  
            Please Review. Fames, Fantastics, don't care. And Destiny Smasher, I do agree with you on Luigi. I know that Mario loves Luigi, and Mario knows that he loves Luigi, and I'm sure if Peach took the time, she would realize that she loved Luigi (I'm not using present tense for that because Luigi currently has her locked up in a smelly dungeon full of rats, and in those circumstances, love is hard to come by), I just don't think that Luigi knows they love him.  
  
Pathways of Fate is a SlyWolf Industries Production


	5. Out of the Fire Place, and Into the Fire

The disclaimer has been on every chapter so far. I'm not rewriting it. Instead, all I will say is that anyone who sues me will find that its not worth the effort, as I only own this computer.  
  
BrasMonki, I do write this story fully indented and everything, it must be fanfiction.net's formatting. I'll do my best to see that it doesn't happen on this chapter.  
  
**Chapter 4: Out of the Frying Pan, and Into the Fire  
  
**_Part 9: Reminiscences_  
  
Mario and Saria were unceremoniously dropped in the middle of Hyrule Field. After brushing themselves off, and picking themselves up, they started looking for some sign of goodly people. As they walked, they kept quiet, each dealing with several thoughts. It was Saria who broke the silence.  
"So, who is this Luigi?"  
  
Mario sighed, trying to find the words. Finally he said, "He is my brother."  
  
"Did you love him?"  
  
"Yes, and I still do, and always will, no matter how twisted he becomes. I suppose, though, that his treachery is my fault, at least to an extent."  
  
Saria looked up at him. The expression on her face was one that made his pain seem weak. "How so?"  
  
"I never was much of a brother. I guess that maybe I should have seemed more appreciative of his efforts, less demanding. Things that should have been said were left unsaid, and things that should not have been said, were said. I always assumed he knew how I felt. But I guess he thought I held him in contempt, or thought him a coward" Mario knew, looking at Saria, that the next question out of her mouth would be 'Was he?' so he decided to not give it a chance. "As to that, it was true that he was scared of many, many things. But that never stopped him. He was always there, helping. But enough. Those are now very painful memories. What about you and Kell… um… Link?"  
  
Saria seemed about to break out in tears again. Mario felt like a heel for bringing it up. "I'm sorry. Maybe we can move on? I'll ask later."  
  
"No, you should know. I have known Link all his life. When he was a baby, I was his older sister. When he became a child, we were friends, and finally, when he grew up, he was like an older brother. Every time he needed advice, he would come and talk to me, not to tell me any thing, but just to have someone to listen to him. I should have seen this coming, though. The last few times we spoke, he seemed filled with some pain, which ate at him. He talked about all the good things he had done, and how pleased King Harkinian Nesferato Hyrule was with his work, or his friends, or what the city was like. But he never mentioned the princess, and every time I enquired about her, he would get upset, and leave. He always was full of pride. I could have helped him, but he would never accept it. Finally, he started talking about forebodings he was having, that the princess would marry someone else, and how if that happened, then all of his titles and all of his good deeds and self- sacrifice would be as nothing. But, like the fool that I am, I just laughed it off. I…just…laughed…it…off." 

            She started crying, leaning on Mario's shoulder. He patted her on the back, and picked her up. They continued like this for a little while, until they spotted a ranch. Mario brightened up. There, on top of the main building, was the royal Hylian standard. He picked up the pace. That flag would be recognizable any where. A yellow Triforce symbol on a field of blue.  
  
"Tell me, on any of his visits, did Link mention a ranch?"  
  
"That would be Lon-Lon Ranch. That's probably the safest place in Hyrule, right now."  
  
"Good. Because safe or not, we are going in."  
* * *  
  
When they reached the ranch, it was already getting dark out. There was a light on in one of the buildings, and the door was unlocked, so they stepped in. As they're eyes were adjusting, Mario heard a voice that he had not heard for over 6 years.  
"Hey, Mario! Why don't you join me by the fire? And that little green- haired Chibi-Link-chan can come too", Mario blinked. Only one person talked like that.  
  
"Roy?"  
  
_Part 10: Plots&Plans  
_  
"Well of course it's me, Mario. I was coming to see Marth and Zelda, and meet my god-daughter, but when I got here, I was told that an evil warlord named Keller had conquered most of Hyrule, and that the royal family had disappeared. That Keller is foolhardy. Boy, when Link finds out what's been going on his absence, he'll be back so fast, this Keller wouldn't know whether he was coming or going." Mario took a good long look at his old friend. Roy hadn't changed a bit. He still had the same sparkle in his eyes, and his hair still looked as if he had stuck a fork in an electrical socket.  
  
"Mario, what did he mean by calling me a 'green-haired Chibi-Link- chan'?"  
  
"What Roy was trying to say, in his way, was that you look like a green-haired, female version of a boy we both knew. And Roy, Link and Keller fighting would be interesting, but unlikely, seeing as how... um... seeing as how Keller killed Link. I'm sure that that was a titanic battle, and that most of the area around the battlefield was rendered into wasteland, but that doesn't change the fact that Link is dead" Mario considered what he had just said. It wasn't like he was lying. The man they had known as Link was dead, and in a way, Keller had killed him. Besides, a portion of Mario wouldn't believe Link's treachery until Keller admitted it himself.  
  
"Link? Dead? Oh my. I never thought I would hear those words. That means that it must be up to me to save my oldest living friend, Marth. If only I knew where he was." Mario examined Roy again. There was no sign of remorse in his eyes, but Mario knew it was there. All of a sudden two other people walked in. "Hmm? Oh, yes. Mario, may I present to you Malon and Talon, the owners of this ranch. Malon, Talon, may I introduce to you Mario and Saria, both of whom are good friends of mine." Mario looked at the two newcomers. Malon was a rather well developed girl with long, flowing red hair. Talon was a middle aged man, who Mario guessed was Malon's father, if only because from what he knew of the race, Hylians would never allow such a marriage to occur, and considering the stories Zelda had told him, the 3 Hylian goddesses would probably smite the offending couple. "They have some bad news. It appears that Link is dead." The girl gasped and paled, while the man collapsed against the wall, and drank some sort of red concoction out of a flask, before getting back up.  
  
"That's terrible! And even worse, Ingo has disappeared! I think that he is going to Keller, to inform him that we still have the royal standard flying. What can we do?"  
  
"Don't worry about it. Mario and I will protect you two. Right, Mario?" Roy obviously had his eyes on the girl. But then again, did his motives really matter in this?  
  
"Right, Roy."  
  
"Wrong." A tall thin man, in white clothes, walked in, followed by two heavy set armored warriors. "By the authority invested in me by King Keller, I place the five of you under arrest. Iron Knuckles, seize them, and put them in the Hyrule Castle Dungeons, with former king Marth." The two things looked at each other, and then sliced Ingo open with the largest axes any of them had ever seen.  
  
"Foolish human, giving us orders. He has no authority, and our orders were to kill, not capture." The voice was metallic, and gave them the impression that the Iron Knuckles weren't alive. At least, in a real sense.  
  
"Iffen you want this ranch, then you'll have to get through me first," said Talon, pulling a spear out of nowhere, which is a gift it seems all Hylians can use. "The four of you, run."  
  
Malon seemed about to argue, but Roy quickly calculated their chances for survival, picked her up, and ran for it, while Mario picked up Saria and followed. They ran until they collapsed on a grassy knoll overlooking Hyrule Castle Town. Malon then started to cry and scream oaths, generally swearing to kill Keller, and Roy. Not necessarily in that order. Roy listened for a little while, and then came over to Mario.  
  
"Because of Ingo's slip of the tongue, we now know where Marth is being held. In there.." Roy pointed towards the city. Pure black pennants fluttered from every tower, while the Gerudo Crescent and Star hung on either side of the gates. Even from this distance, Mario could see incredibly large amounts of guards patrolling the wall and streets.  
  
"Sorry to burst your bubble, but how are we meant to get in there? The defense of that place makes Bowser's lava moats seem like a puddle!"  
  
"Don't worry, Mario. I have a cunning plan."  
  
"Can I say I'm not optimistic?"  
  
"No"  
  


  
Chapters are getting longer, it seems. Right. Roy, since your still hanging around, you can make yourself useful and read the Author's notes for this chapter.  
  
"Okay. Firstly, SlyWolf-san is now accepting unsigned reviews. If possible, could you at least leave your penname some where in the review? Thanks. Also, please, in one of your reviews, will you get SlyWolf-san to change my cunning plan to a less embarrassing one? Please? I don't look good in drag."  
  
Perfect. Except for two things. Number one: Stop calling me SlyWolf-san. Number two: Next time you reveal the plot; I will have you thrown into a big pit of spikes.  
  
"My apologies, SlyWolf-san. I guess I should not say that in the next chapter, Marth is released from prison, and then."  
  
Right. Bruno, toss him into spike pit #32. And then, drop in a spider. A big one.  
  
Please Review.


	6. A sour victory

I don't own anything.

**Chapter 5: A sour victory**

_Part 11: Man in tights!_

The Darknut on guard duty at the city gates blinked. It knew that what it was seeing could not exist. No one could possibly be that stupid or clichéd. 

"Right. Lets go through this again. You are… a troop of dancing girls, hired by the glorious one, Keller? A man who has several times sliced women apart just for trying to act attractive? And what about you, pudgy one? Even if Keller did swing that way, and I've seen him chop men up for pretty much the same thing, I don't think that you would be no.1 on his list of handsome guys," He sighed. It was obvious what the Al-Mario dancing troupe really was. Some people really had no idea.

"Um, I'm the manager. Right, Royanna?" Mario could see that this was leading to them being chopped into really small pieces. He should have punched Roy when he had the chance. It was bad enough learning that Roy had shaved his body for this plan. But expecting an intelligent guard to believe a man in drag, a green haired girl wearing clothes far to old for her, a red-haired, glaring woman and a fat, pudgy plumber could possibly be a world famous Arabic dancing troupe, was stretching optimism so much it snapped. And learning that Keller was sadistic only made the apprehension worse.

"Now look. We both know that this idea is the oldest in the book. Really, people! Now I should kill you, but I have to admit that I admire the fact that the four of you are retarded enough to try it in this day and age. Go on get into the city. Hope you live long enough to see your friend."

* * *

The 4 of them got into the castle by the simple method of causing the men on duty to laugh so much they choked to death. Once in, they got back into their normal clothes. Then Mario punched Roy so hard that he flew into a pillar and caused it to topple. "You moron! We're lucky that we got guards with senses of humor! We could have been killed. And worse, if your plan had worked, Keller would have killed us anyway!"

"Hey! At least we're in! And I didn't see you come up with any better ideas, " said Roy, who then delivered a backhand slap, sending Mario into the wall.

"Boys! Stop fighting, or when we reach the dungeon me and Saria will toss you in with Marth and take our chances with Keller!" Malon looked around. Said girl was currently in conversation with her fairy. "Right. Now from when the old king locked my father up for loitering and I had to go and pay a ransom, the dungeon is this way." She led them through the twisting castle.

* * *

As they walked along the corridor, they heard a shouted conversation. They carefully stepped over to a window over looking the throne room. The throne of Hyrule had been pushed into a corner. In the center of the room was an oak table. On each side were a variety of people. At the head was a man whose clothes; helmet, cloak, and gauntlets were pure black. Next to him were a man wearing a purple spiky mask, and a man wearing orange armor. Opposite him was a woman wearing what looked like evening dress. They tried to listen.

"He's gone mad! He can't possibly mean it! Keller, we are being downgraded!" The orange man smashed his fist into the table. "Unite all evil beings in the galaxy to serve under him? We might as well be common minions with all that competition"

"I like to think of it as an investment in our future. Think, the three of you. With Ganon off ruling the galaxy, he'll be too busy to keep close tabs on us. Almost total independence would be ours!" Mario took a closer look at the man called Keller. Yes. Now that he knew what to look for, he could see it. His mannerisms, the way he moved, even the way he picked up his wine glass, only made it obvious. Keller had indeed been Link. Mario tried to blink back the tears that welled up unbidden. He looked at Saria. Her eyes were watering, and she seemed to be about to start crying. Roy seemed unsure of something, and Malon was searching her memory for what was probably the same thing. He knew what was coming once they were done spying. Another voice joined in below. He strained to hear it. It sounded like it did not belong to the mouth that was speaking.

"Yes. It makes sense. We could do as we want with these pathetic fools. I could even sacrifice enough to free myself from this wooden prison"

"Agreed. These mortals have had it too good for too long. But Ganon has become weak in his imprisonment. We all have a couple of ideas that he would not approve of. And Majora, that's a very nice host body." This voice seemed to belong to the woman at the end of table. It was a voice that could cackle, and not sound pathetic. 

"Bah. It's not like we have a choice anyway. Being tossed into the pit of flames or having my heart ripped out at the pyramid of power is not what I would call a good thing. Luckily, Ganondorf took care of Bowser and Mewtwo himself, so that's the most powerful done. Now who's left? I think I should take care of the King of Bern. "

Mario had heard enough. All the evils in the galaxy were uniting. The Deku tree's words had been true. He motioned his companions to follow him. Once they were a safe distance away, Roy slammed him into a pillar. "He's Link, isn't he?! And you told me he was dead. You knew all along. And the arrogance, thinking I wouldn't notice. Why didn't you tell me the truth?" Malon also seemed livid.

"I thought you would try to speak with him. That you thought your friendship would help bring him back to the path of light. But I have it on the best of authority that you would only anger him by trying. And Link is dead. Listen to Keller, and then remember Link. Link is dead and buried." Saria's tears were flowing freely now. Malon sat down and started sobbing. Roy stepped back as if he had been struck. "I know how you all feel. I also lost someone dear to me to the insidious promises of evil. My own brother turned against me and joined Bowser."

"No. Not Luigi?" Roy seemed shocked. "He always seemed pleasant enough. Never thought that he would join the dark side. But if Link could, then I guess Luigi could too."

"Yes! He did. But that's not important. I'll tell you when we are safe. Now we must move quickly. Marth is probably in terrible danger." 

* * *

They reached the dungeon with out running into any guards. A nasty suspicion percolated at the back of Roy's mind. But now was not the time. If his suspicions about Link's treachery were correct, then Marth was probably suffering terribly. He quickly looked through the cells. No one was alive. His pulse quickened. "Oi, Roy! This your friend? The guy who looks like King Marth?" He ran over to where Malon was standing. He looked into the cage. A man lay huddled on a pallet. The blue hair was a dead give away. 

"Dear God, It's him. But there is no knob, or keyhole. How can we get him out of there?" Saria walked up to the door and laid her hand upon it. Roy backed away out of some foreboding feeling. 

"Souls of trees long dead, shatter your bonds and enter the spirit realm." The door imploded. Roy ran inside and knelt by Marth's bed.

"Marth! Wake up, please! Please wake up, old friend!" Marth turned over to face him. His eyes snapped open and he tried to sit up straight. All that happened was the blanket fell off. They gasped. Marth's left leg had been removed from the knee down. 

"Keller, if this is some new trick, it won't work. I won't tell you where I hid the crown."

"No, Marth. It really is me, Roy! Come on. Mario's here. We have to get you out of here before Keller shows up!"

"Too late, I'm afraid." Keller strode into the room, sweeping Saria, Malon and Mario before him. He tapped his sword thoughtfully. "Please. Did you really think that I had no guards posted? I let you get in here. Get all of my enemies in one place, that type of thing. And now, all of you die." His hands glowed purple, and then a ball of black lightning struck them. They were all tossed back against the wall, severely scorched. Roy stared. He had never felt such power. He knew only one way to distract Keller long enough to pull his sword out.

"Why would you want to kill us, _Link_? We're your friends, aren't we?" Keller screamed. "And what about that mask? I guess you're ugly enough to hide your face behind it. Ugly enough for the princess to marry someone else?" He knew as soon as he said the words that they had been a mistake. His friends looked at him as if he was insane. Marth looked as if he thought _he _was insane. Keller roared and tore off his helmet and threw back his cowl. Beneath it was Link's face, but different in many subtle ways. His blond hair had turned into a fiery orange, and his once cool blue eyes glowed with flames, opening a window into his soul. His once permanent smile had been replaced with a scowl.

"Oh my goddesses." Saria and Malon did the triangle symbol over their hearts. Marth just stared dumbfounded as his world collapsed around him.

"_Yes_. I was _Link_," Keller spat the name out, "back when I was still capable of emotions. Back before a certain so-called friend stole my princess"

_Part 12: Fleeing for their lives_

Marth's worst fears were realized. The man who had been torturing him, who had stolen his country, who had taken his wife and daughter and locked them away, and then cut off his leg, had been his best friend. _My god.__ What has happened to you, Link?_

Roy pulled himself up. Keller seemed unlikely to kill them yet. He had probably been saving up all sorts of things to say over the years. 

Malon, on the other hand, was panicking. She had known Link back when he was still a hero. And she knew that his techniques would probably remain the same. When he would find an enemy that was weaker than him, he would play with it before he killed it.

Mario knew that there was no getting out of this. He was fully aware that there was nothing he could do about his impending death. Keller didn't even have a tail to grab. He was looking death in the face, and it was that of a friend.

Saria, however, believed that Link could be reasoned with, maybe even redeemed. And even if he couldn't, trying would give her time to cast a spell to get them to safety. She decided to give it a shot. "Link, it's me. Saria"

"I know who you are. And don't call me that name."

"Why not? It is your name. Come on, Link. You don't want to kill us just because the princess married Marth instead of you, do you?"

"Yes, I damn well do."

"Why? Its not like she loved you, or at least not like she loved you in that way, righ" The rest of Roy's sentence was silenced by a bolt of black lightning scorching the wall just above his head.

"No. You're lying. She did love me, and Marth stole her!" Another blast slammed into the wall above Marth.

"Link, you need help. Please stop this, and hand over Zelda and Arryl, and we can all be friends, and we can find a way to return you to the way you were. Please, Link?" Even as Saria said it, Keller's eyes flickered blue. It was a fraction of a second, but that was all she needed. She finished her spell, and teleported herself and her friends away.

* * *

They appeared in Hyrule Field. Roy quickly pulled out a little metal cylinder, and pressed a button on it. When he noticed their stares, he coughed and said, "Well how did you think I got here? Samus was kind enough to give me a lift."

Saria stared into the distance. She had noticed the brief flicker in Keller's eyes. She knew that she had been right. Keller could become Link once again. She sighed. Maybe she should have frozen him and taken him with her so that she could work on him. She was glad, though, that she would never grow up. Worrying about romance and things like that seemed very complicated.

"Right. She'll be here soon. And then we can leave this place, get help, and free the Hylian people from their tyrants" 

"Dear god. I should have known. It was right in front of me, I could have stopped him. I should have told him before I asked her. It's all my fault." Marth was still in a state of shock.

"Hey, Marth. Don't be so hard on yourself. Link made his own choices. It's not your fault, and none of us blame you. Right, guys?" They all nodded. Then someone blew their nose.

"Aw. How touching. I guess you all know how I feel." Keller was floating in front of them. He held his handkerchief delicately, and then watched as purple flames destroyed it. "Personally, I agree with Marth. But that's just my opinion."

"Link, don't be a fool. Let us leave. We won't return. If you want, you can come with us. I'm sure we can help you if you'll let us." Saria was playing it for all it was worth. But she half expected the blast, and rolled forward. The ground where she had been standing was rendered dead.

"No. I made my choice. You won't distract me this time. And the next one of you who calls me Link dies. Now, I have some gifts for you all. Saria, you first. I know you have never grown up, so can't understand how, or why I did what I did. I'm going to fix that."

"I'm sorry, Link. I don't understand"

"Oh, but you will," Link started chanting. "A process stopped can be restarted, frozen time can warm. A Kokiri you were, a Kokiri you are, but a Hylian shall you soon be" He finished his chant and stretched his arm towards her. An invisible force leapt out of his hand, striking Saria. She bent over as the air around her filled with darkness, entering her body. As quickly as it appeared, the darkness disappeared. Saria didn't look any different.

"Your spell didn't work, Link. Nice try."

"Oh, but it did. And if I were a patient man I would wait a year, and then look at you again, just to see your aging body, and how you were coping. But I'm not a patient man, so I'll give nature a helping hand." Keller started chanting again. "Time is given, time is lost. Time flows like a stream, time grows like a moss. I command by the power that is mine, advance her age forty eight months." Again, the darkness surrounded her. But when it cleared, her body was very different. Her hair now reached down to her waist. Her body had curved into an hourglass shape, and her legs, bare beneath her tunic, were now white and smooth. But perhaps most important were the two round bumps on her chest. She took one look at her new body and fainted. Her fairy appeared and floated around her. Keller quickly shouted, "Dark Bottle," and it was captured in a purple container, which floated back to his belt. 

"You don't need this anymore, _young lady._ Now what else? Hmm. Oh yes, that's right. Mario, Luigi sends his regards and asked me to tell you he is enjoying Peach's company. Marth, your beloved Zelda is in Hylia, along with your daughter. Roy, as of 39 minutes ago, the kingdom of Bern took over your precious land and executed your father. And Malon, you're coming with me. Dark HookShot!" A wave of energy shot towards her. Acting quickly, Roy pushed her aside. It grabbed him, pulling him up besides Keller, where he levitated in some sort of stasis. Keller grimaced, and then pulled his helmet and cowl back over his face. 

            "You'll do. One last thing," He snapped his fingers and disappeared taking Roy with him. But they didn't have time to mourn as hundreds of moblins appeared around them. 

            All hope seemed lost when all of a sudden a blast of energy slammed into the horde. A red space ship appeared, and an armored woman ran out and shouted, "Move, you fools! That stun blast won't hold them!" Mario picked up Saria and ran for it while Malon helped Marth hobble on board. Once they were all on board, the ship flew off, carrying them away from Hyrule.

I tried to get this to work as I typed it. This is an HTML format. In reviews, can you tell me how it worked, in regards to indenting. Thanks. Also, please tell me if I should make this an R fic. I don't know, but I think that it's heading that way.

Please review.


	7. The Gathering Storm

I don't own anything!

Chapter 7: The Gathering Storm

_Part 13: Enter the Falcon_

                After they left Hyrule, the Metroid Hunter jumped into Hyper Space. Samus then turned to Mario and asked,

                "Mario, what's going on? What happened to Marth's leg? Who are these two girls? And what happened to Roy?"

                Mario looked around to see if there was any assistance coming. Marth was siting down, with his head in his hands, sobbing. Saria had woken up, but was so engrossed with her new body that she was unable to go 5 seconds with out touching it. Her expression was one of curiosity, tinged with fear and excitement. The shock of seeing the only planet she had ever known disappear in the distance had knocked Malon out. Mario wondered if he could get away with the 'Link's dead' thing again, or if he should tell the truth. _Well, let's see what happens with the truth…_

                "To make a long story short, Luigi turned evil, joined Bowser, and led an army to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom. I narrowly escaped with my life, and went to Hyrule to find help. However, when I arrived, I learned that Hyrule had been conquered by an incredibly evil, yet also quite polite, person named Keller. Then I and the green-haired girl ran into Roy at the red-haired girl's ranch. We rested for a while, but then these two nasty soldier things appeared, killed her father, and forced us to escape. We broke into the evil guy's castle to free Marth. We succeeded, only Roy sent Keller into a psychotic rage, and we had to run away before Keller decided the world would be a better place without us breathing. We got to the field. Then Keller magically appeared out of nowhere, turned Saria, who used to be a ten year old Kokiri girl, into the beautiful young woman she is now, spent a few minutes insulting us, and telling us how all the evils in the universe were uniting, and what was going on back in my and Roy's homes, i.e. bad things, and then tried to kidnap Malon, only he missed and grabbed Roy, and then he disappeared and this big army appeared and you rescued us. Marth's leg was sliced off by Keller. The green-haired girl is Saria, and the red haired one is Malon. Oh yes, and Keller used to be Link, only don't call him that as if you do he goes psycho and tries to flambé you."

                "I really, really hope you are lying."

                "I wish I was"

                "Luigi and Link turned evil?! That's horrible!" 

                "And that's not the worst of it. Keller isn't the only one of Ganondorf's servants we have to look out for. There is also this walking suit of orange armor named Onox, and an evening dress wearing woman named Veran, and something called Majora, which is either a mask, or someone who just got back from a rather tacky costume party. And they were talking about how Bowser and Mewtwo had just joined Ganondorf."

                All of a sudden, the com-link crackled to life. The face of Douglas Falcon appeared on the screen. He looked as if he had been crying. Tears trickled down his face. 'Samus! Mute City has been destroyed! Ripley has conquered the federation! Millions have died! Goroh, Summers, all of my fellow racers, they're all dead!" 

                "_WHAT!_ Where are you? I'll come and get you." Samus read the co-ordinates and steered for the Falcon Flyer's position.

                *              *              *

                The Falcon Flyer was not a pretty sight. It was severely scorched, and smoke billowed ominously out of it. A couple of repair droids ran across the surface, putting out flames. As Marth looked at it, he realised something. Those flames were magical in nature. This Ripley fellow must have had help. No laser blast, or natural fire, could scorch metal that badly.

                As they docked, Marth kept running thoughts through his head. He was not to blame, he knew that. Link had made his own choices. Keller could believe what he wanted, it was all a lie. And yet, somehow, he did feel guilt. His country needed him, his family needed him, and here he was, running away. It was like Altea all over again…

                He was thrust out of his grim train of thought by the sound of a door sliding open. Captain Douglas E. Falcon strode into the room, and made a beeline for Samus. They all got out of his way. His face was that of a man who had been through hell. His track suit was burned, and his helmet had a large crack in it. Samus spoke, "Now, Douglas. What happened, in your own words?"

                Captain Falcon sat down and removed his helmet. "The race was starting. The president was there, about to wave the flag. All of a sudden, hundreds of space pirate ships land. Thousands of pirates poured out. The galactic troops started firing at them, and then us racers jumped out of our vehicles and pitched in. We were winning, but then there was this noise like finger's snapping, and this army of pig things appeared out of no where, and then this army of humanoid birds in yellow robes appeared and started sending fire everywhere, and then this crazy woman in evening dress appeared alongside Ripley, and she turned the President into a newt and stepped on him, and I had to get out of there. It was a massacre! I was the only racer left, the soldiers were being wiped out, and this pair of bird things kept trying to scorch me! I reached my ship and the bird things just start shooting at it until I zap them a couple of times. I take off, and behind me the Space Pirate fleet takes off too, and then the city just explodes!"

                "Damn. Looks like you were right about that whole 'All the evils in the universe are uniting', Mario." Mario looked embarrassed. Of all the times for him to be right.

                "Samus? What is going on? Why is Marth missing a leg, and why are he and Mario here anyway, and who are these two, and why does the green-haired girl keep touching herself? Girl, find a man to do that for you. Pretty thing like you could have a line going twice around the block if you went looking." Saria blushed. Samus muttered something about pigs, and then kicked Captain Falcon right where, not to put to fine a point on it, he kept what he considered his most important part. His eyes crossed. "Ungh…Ow!"

                "Now that I have your complete attention, Douglas, I can answer your questions." She answered them the same way Mario answered hers. Captain Falcon had no reaction, though he did seem a bit startled when informed of Link and Luigi's defections. Finally, when Captain Falcon was up to speed, they got down to business. They had to race against the clock in order to save more heroes, and maybe even planets. It was decided that they would split into two teams. Samus and the girls would go searching on worlds that hadn't been conquered yet, and Captain Falcon and the boys would go on rescue missions to worlds that had already fallen. Their mission was simple. To save the universe from the force of darkness!

                *              *              *

                "Alright, Marth. Before we do anything, I'm getting you a prosthetic limb."

                "A what?"

                "You'll see."

_Part 14: Earthbound3: The destruction of Eagleland_

                Ness surveyed the battle field. So far, they had managed to hold the Starmen back, but they and their allies grew stronger by the minute. The Eagleland forces were hiding in the ruins of central Fourside. They had already lost the eastern front, the western front had been trashed, the southern front didn't exist anymore, and the northern front had been crushed like an egg. And they still had no idea who was in charge of the opposing army.

                Ness had changed a great deal since the tournament. No longer did he resemble a potato. Instead, he had spent the last couple of years working out. He now looked more like a carrot, and no longer had the figure that had inspired Young Link to spend the tournament calling him 'spud', and Old Link calling him a 'pathetic excuse for a warrior, who should spend more time working out, and grow 3 more feet'. Y. Link. He wondered how things were going for him. After the tournament, the elf boy had returned to his own dimension. They had met just once since then, at Marth & Zelda's marriage. Y.Link had introduced Ness to his fiancé, Y. Zelda. It really was amazing how Hylians handled these things. Come to think of it, Old Link hadn't been around for that wedding…

                A massive explosion broke his thoughts. Poo and Paula were running towards him. "Ness! They've got past the west blockade!!"

                "What? Jeff was in charge there! Where is he?"

                "Mwa ha ha ha ha!" That voice. Where had he heard that voice? "I'm afraid your bespectacled friend has been scattered across 50 feet." Mewtwo. Of course. But where was he? "Yes. My Shadow Implosion technique proved too much for him."

                "And as for your pathetic soldiers, they're all dead. My Darknuts proved too much for _them_. Of course, they deserved it for trying to fight against the greatest tactical genius in the history of the universe, me, General Onox! And for even daring to challenge the army of the Great Ganon!

                So. Jeff was dead. He should feel sad, but the news just left him, well, empty. He could shed tears later. Right now, he had more important things to deal with. Like how to save an entire city of people.

                All of a sudden there was a flash of light. Mewtwo appeared, just as menacing and frightening as ever. Then there was the sound of fingers snapping, and a purple mushroom cloud, and an orange figure appeared behind Poo. It stood 6"5' tall and Ness certainly hoped that that helmet wasn't based around how the head actually was shaped… "Poo! Behind you!"

                "Naughty, naughty, boy" Poo turned around just in time to see Onox grab him by the throat.

                "Hey! Let go of me, you bully! P.K. Fire!" Onox caught on fire. Ness smiled. Well, that was the end of that. 

                "Fool! Feel my wrath!" Onox tossed Poo far into the air. Then a black nimbus surrounded him. When it cleared, a huge black dragon had replaced Onox. 30 feet tall, with tremendous black wings, it made Mother seem like a nice person. It caught Poo with 2 claws, grabbing his shirt. "Now, what to do with you? Mewtwo, do you have any preferences?"

                "Eat him."

"Right." Onox exhaled. Black fire came from his mouth, frying Poo to a crisp. He then popped Poo in his mouth. "Tastes like chicken."

                "Now go, and spread destruction! We shall make an example of this city, so that the other countries of this world will bend before our master!" With a nod, the creature flew off. Mewtwo turned back to Ness. "You might be wondering what I'm doing here. Well, to tell you the truth, I got tired of Pokeworld. And one day, I was meditating in my lair, when all of a sudden a messenger appeared. Apparently, Ganon, you remember him, right? Well anyway, Ganon was moving to conquer this universe. And the second person he came for to help him and his minions out, after Bowser, was me. He offered me any world I desired provided I agreed to serve him. Well, I picked this one. Giovanni has Pokeworld sewn up pretty tight. So I came, took command of the Starmen, and then sent for assistance, which I got in the form of my heavily armored friend that just ate pajama boy, and his considerable army. Right. That's that sorted out. Now we…" They never found out what he was about to say, because Paula threw everything she had at him.

                "P.K. Destruction!" Mewtwo rose one hand, and caught the incoming ball of death. Then he smirked.

                "Very good, girl. I almost felt that one. Well, you showed me yours, now I'll show you mine. Shadow Implosion!" A massive wave of dark energy shot into Paula. Nothing happened.

                "What? Is that your best?"

                "Wait…" Paula suddenly started to flake. Her skin just came off her bones, and then her bones just disintegrated. "Well, Ness? What are you going to do now?"

                "Shrivel up and die, Mewtwo!" A round energy ball slammed into him from behind. A familiar armored figure appeared. "Come on Ness! He'll be back up soon!"

                "Samus? It was terrible! He killed every one!"

                "I know. That's been happening a lot, lately. Now hurry up!"

                "Leaving so soon? I don't think so. Onox!" The black dragon reappeared. Mewtwo floated up next to Onox's head. "Goodbye, heroes." He whispered something to Onox, and then teleported out.

                "Uh-oh. That is frighteningly large." Onox idly torched a nearby building. "We're dead. Sorry, Ness."

                "Well, at least you tried. I want to die, actually. I let them kill my friends.

                "Sorry to disappoint you, then, boy!" A young woman ran past Samus, dressed in a green skirt, and a very tight green blouse. "Now what's that spell? Oh yes." She started to chant. "Light of ancients, hear my plight. Stop this evil, by the power of what's right!" There was a blinding light. When he was able to see again, he saw that the dragon had just frozen, not moving. "Right! Now hurry up! It only works once!"

                "Right, Saria. Ness, I'm sorry about this, but we have to hurry. Saria, tell Malon to press the green button!" She ran forward, picked up Ness, and then ran towards her ship, Ness struggling every step of the way. 

                When the dragon did wake up, it could only watch as the ship flew off into space, where evem he couldn't reach. It shook its head, and returned to its normal form. "Keller is not going to like this one bit." Then Onox ran off to join the battle. He still had a city to conquer!

Well, that's a turn up for the books! Next on Pathways of Fate, Dreamland has a rather nasty visitor, and Samus&Co learn that no matter where they go, they can't escape from the forces of evil. 

Please review. Flames, Fantastics, I don't care! 


	8. Mercy is for the weak

I own everythi…. Nothing. Hmm. This computer is piiiin-blue. Uh Oh. I can't lie! Nintendo owns Super Smash Brothers. Now, before we get to the meat of this chapter, I would like to say a few words concerning last chapter. Yes, it should have been Chapter 6: The Gathering Storm. But, it was in reality Chapter 6.5, because I had written another chapter 6. The first part was the same, but the second part, completely different. It was done because I had wanted to add Captain Albert Wesker and Rebecca Chambers (Resident Evil) to the dark side, and add Claire Redfield and Leon Kennedy (Ditto) to the light side. It was actually a masterpiece, but before I could upload it, a virus destroyed my laptops system. So, in memory of that lost chapter, I made The Gathering Storm the sixth Chapter, and replaced the original part 15 with the original part 13 (Or what I could remember of it), and then renamed the original part 16 part 14, but kept the chapter number as 7. If that makes no sense, don't worry. It's not important. Just thought I owed an explanation. Anyway, I'm calling this chapter 8. As to the original chapter 6, I have a backup of the file somewhere, and I might add it on when I find it. Or perhaps not. 

One more thing. I'm calling Captain Falcon Douglas, because its easier to type. If you don't like it, mention it in your reviews, and in the next chapter, I'll call him Captain Falcon, but only if I get enough petitions. And yes, I do realize this is a cheap way to get more reviews! For those of you who have reviewed, thanks, and keep it up! For those of you who read but don't review, I do allow unsigned reviews, so there is no excuse! 

**Chapter 8: Mercy is for the Weak**

_Part 15: Majora's Wrath_

                     "So, Marth. How does it feel?"

                     "Its rather odd. I do wish to find some way to break it in." Soon after the heroes had parted company, the boys had gone to get Marth a prosthetic leg. This errand done, they were now on their way to Dreamland to find Kirby. As Douglas put it, 'If we have Kirby on our side, then those villains will avoid us like the plague. After all, even villains won't stick around after a pink balloon has swallowed them. They have their pride!'

                     "You're going to get that chance soon enough, boys. That's Pop Star up ahead!"

                     *                   *                   *

                     The first thing Douglas realized when he got off the Falcon Flyer was the eerie lack of noise. The planet was completely silent. Not a bird sang, not a cricket chirped. Nothing. "Damn! It's as if someone pressed a mute button, or something!"

                     "Yeah. Scary, isn't it?" Mario and Mario followed him out. Marth was getting used to walking again. "Almost as if someone had come and killed eve…ry…one… Oh no. They couldn't have. They wouldn't! Who would help them? Kirby said King Dedede was a nice guy now. He wouldn't help them, I'm sure" Mario remembered Luigi and Link. "I'm almost sure" he corrected himself.

                     "I've been here before, so I can find my way around."

                     "When were you here, Marth?"

                     "My honeymoon. This was where Zelda wanted our honeymoon. She was so beautiful. She still is beautiful. And now, now she's in the hands of the man who above all else hates her. If we had known, we would have spent more time looking for him then we did…"

"Worried Keller will rape your wife?" Mario guessed. That was what he worried about, with Peach in Luigi's hands.

                     "No. Keller might be horrendously evil, but he still is Hylian, and no Hylian can get his mind around the concept of rape. Sexual abuse, maybe. Innuendoes, certainly. But actual rape, no. It's as inconceivable to them as the concept of mercy for a defeated enemy is. That's what I'm worried about. If Keller has Zelda and my daughter and Roy, for that matter, he would be treating them like defeated enemies."

                     "What? Like, free room and board, not torturing them, treating them with respect? That type of thing?"

                     "No. Those are new human inventions. Hylians are more like cats. They play with their captured enemies before they kill them." Marth tried to shake away the images that came. Images of Keller standing over him with thumbscrews, releasing him into a field of bomb flowers and firing arrows at him, slicing off his leg in order to watch him hop through the maze he had set up. While the last was above and beyond normal Hylian behavior, grounded in hatred as it was, he could also remember that those thumb screws had been taken from Hyrule castle, and those bomb flowers had been planted for just that purpose generations before. "There is a Hylian saying; 'Mercy is for the weak. Because they would harm you if they could, so too must you harm then when you can.' Its not their fault, it's a cultural thing, but even Zelda could be brutal. Every time I turned around, she would be ordering the executions of prisoners. And when I stopped the executions from taking place, I would find that assassins had come and wiped out entire cellblocks, hired by either her, or by the nobles. And these are the good Hylians. What a bad Hylian would do doesn't bear thinking of. I'm not worried about rape, I'm worried about them being killed."

                     "That's horrible! And I thought they were such a nice species!"

                     "Hey, C.F., they are nice! I married one, didn't I? They're just not very merciful."

                     "Look, this is all very interesting, but we have to find Kirby! And Douglas, before you grab the high moral ground, just remember what race created the nuclear bomb? Or the disintegrator?"

                     "Um…"

                     "Just chew on that. Now lets go find Kirby!"

*                   *                   *

                     When they reached the capital of Dreamland, a scene of devastation met their eyes. Whole city streets had been turned to dust. Bodies lay everywhere. Some were blue armored warriors wearing purple capes; others were strange star-shaped red things. The majority, though, consisted of bizarre monsters, that seemed little more than blobs of darkness now, and creatures that Marth identified as Dinofos. There were Moblins here too, and many other members of the foot soldiers of darkness. There was nothing living to be seen. They fanned out to look for survivors.

"Hey! Guys! I think I found someone." Mario had pulled up some of the rubble blocking the entrance to the castle. Under it, he had found someone. It was King Dedede. And more importantly, he was still alive.

                     "Ungh. Are my people safe? Did we… win?" King Dedede's voice was weak, as if it was coming from a great distance away. Mario saw how his body had been crushed. Marth and Douglas ran up.

                     "Your majesty, your people are fine. Your soldiers fought bravely. Dreamland is free." They could see that he was on his way out, and they wanted his last moments to be happy ones.

                     "Thank you… for trying to… shield me. I" His voice was getting weaker, as if he was forcing it to speak, "remember it now… the great villain… the cloaked… nightmare. He… had appeared… as if by magic… in the center of the city… with his army… and then this… human… wearing a… horrific… mask" and here he shook his head as if to clear it, "appeared with those lizard monsters… killing, and taking… I led the Metaknights in defense…  of the city… but it was to no avail…"

                     Marth leaned over. "What do you mean, taking? Taking where?"

                     "Please… I… do… not have much… time… Kirby was by the… east wall… with his friends… please… go to him… heal him… and his… friends… they will… help you…. Ask Kirby to… forgive me… I… beg you…" King Dedede's eyes began to glaze. "I… go… to… my… people… please… avenge… us… I'm… sorr…" He spoke no more. After a little while, Douglas leaned forward and closed his eyes.

                     "Goddamn them all. Every last villain." They bowed their heads. After a minute of silence, they went to find Kirby. Or at least, Mario and Marth went to find Kirby. Douglas had gone to find his medi-kit. Kirby was indeed by the east wall, leaning against the wall with a giant hamster, and something that resembled a blue ball of putty. 

                     "Hello… Marth, Mario. Sorry we are meeting again under such dark circumstances." Looking closer, they could see that the wall Kirby was leaning on was stained red. The hamsters fur was, in some places, a pinkish color, and the ball of putty seemed flattened.

                     "Hello Kirby. Why don't you introduce to your friends?" Kirby rose up. Or at least tried to rise. He collapsed on to the dirt.

                     "I guess I've been hurt more than I thought. Can you two please go get the Maxim tomatoes that rolled under that board of wood? Thanks." Marth walked over, found a few, and then returned. "Ah. Now, please give me one, pass two to Gooey, he's the blue thing, and give the rest to Rick. He's the hamster. Thanks." All ready the 3 seemed well. Gooey had returned to his standard shape of a blue sphere. Rick's fur was white and brown once more. Kirby himself was much better. "Right. Now lets go meet King Dedede. He'll be glad to hear that we have won. I see no enemy forces around here anymore!"

                     Mario looked at Marth. "Yesss, I'm sure he would be, if it wasn't for the fact that he's dead. Seemed very apologetic about something, wanted you to forgive him some crime or other. Also, I'm afraid that the reason you see no enemies around is the fact that they won. King Dedede said something about taking, too. Do you know what he meant?" 

                     "We lost? And the survivors were taken to the Cloaked Nightmares home dimension? Oh no! Then…Angeline!"

                     "Who?"

                     "Never mind. But… who was that masked man? He was very strange. Almost as if the mask had been wearing him. And what were those lizard things?" And are you _sure _we lost? Is everyone really dead or taken? How did Dedede die? While the last three weren't asked, they hovered on the air.

                     "Everything that happened here was caused by servants of Ganondorf. That's all we have time for right now. We had better get back to the Falcon Flyer before some monsters show up." They were spared having to walk back when the Falcon Flyer did a speed landing in front of them. Douglas leaped out.

                     "Come on! Let's go, people!" In the direction he had come from, a huge tentacle waved in the air. Black magic shot out from it, blasting the wall to pieces. Majora was free.

                     "Gooey scared! Run away now!" The ball of putty bounced on to the ship, followed by Rick. Another burst of magic slammed right beside the remaining people. They all jumped and ran into the ship, which then went to full speed in a matter of seconds, zooming off the planet.

                     Majora watched them leave. While it knew it should have stopped them, it had been ages since it had been at full power. It knew that if it wanted to remain in the council of four, it would have to take on a humanoid form. But right now, it was going to enjoy itself. 

_Part 16: In space, no one can hear you scream_

                     Saria had not been having a good week. Since she had left the forest, she had learned of a terrible betrayal, had her species suddenly changed on her and then been magically aged until she was 14, and those two were done by a person she had considered an older brother. And then, a couple of hours before they had saved Ness, Samus and Malon had sat her down and done their best to condense entire reams of schooling into a small talk. Ordinarily, they could have done it gradually, but this wasn't ordinary at all. Saria had, quite literally, skipped her developing years, and unlike what happened to Link in the Temple of Time, there was no magical force filling her mind with the things she should know about so as to keep herself from becoming embarrassed by her own body, or at least not to any great extent. Besides, Link had aged normally. Saria had been pushed. And now, here she was, wearing uncomfortable underwear (Malon had called it lingerie, but Saria was the type of person who would call a spade a shovel), in an unfamiliar body, and with strange thoughts running around her head. And a lot of them revolved around Ness…

                     Ness was looking at her with a puzzled, and slightly embarrassed expression. He leaned over to her. "I'm honored, but I'm afraid that there's something you don't know about me. I'm psychic. That means that I can read minds. So if you're thinking things like how handsome I am, I can pick them up as easy as if you said them." Saria blushed, for the first time in her life. Then she concentrated.

                     _Guess what, Ness? I'm psychic too. But the difference is, I don't poke into other peoples minds. _Saria experienced a slight sense of satisfaction at him jumping.

                     "Well, its hard not to read someone's mind when that person keeps thinking about me. But now that I have your attention, perhaps you can help me out. At the Super Smash tournament, I made a friend named Link. Well I made friends with one of the Links. The one from another dimension, the one my age. The one from this dimension had little time for someone shaped like a potato… I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?" Saria was blinking back tears. "What? Did I break some religious thing?"

                     "Um, Ness? We don't talk about Link any more. I'm sure that your friend is fine, but our Link is… no longer amongst us." Malon didn't want to tell Ness too much. Samus was sure that Y. Link was fine, she had told Malon she thought that, he was even engaged to his Zelda, it seemed like Y. Link hadn't been bound so strictly by the formality that had been his older self's downfall. But telling Ness about Link could ruin him. She forgot that lying to a psychic is near impossible.

_                     And what do you mean by that_ _Malon? _The thought came in from out side of her brain. She could feel a rummaging. _Let's see. Ah ha! Recent memory. Let me see. 'Learning that the Heroic Link and the Archfiend Lord Keller are one and the same has driven a stake through my heart. Link was my friend, and to learn that he had the capacity for such hatred, and so much evil, in him chills my heart. I can't put the two together. Link, who had saved Hyrule from Ganondorf, and helped me so much, the same man as Keller, who conquered Hyrule for Ganon, and ordered my father's and mine deaths? No. I can't think that! Just because its Link's body and I don't think its that anymore, really, doesn't mean its Link's soul. Yes, that's it! Link is dead, and Ganon replaced his soul with something else! Din, Farore, Nayru, may Link be resting peacefully, and may he have achieved his true reward. No. That doesn't work. I can't lie to myself. He must have truly loved Zelda. I can only hope that that love remains strong enough to keep him from killing her. Oh Goddesses help Hyrule, and may you bring your true hero back to the path of righteousness. And my beloved Roy, may he come back to me, and may my father have reached Arcadia.' Oh my god. How?HHo  _She could feel shock and horror coming from the presence.

                     "Ness? Is something wrong? Only you've gone pale." Samus was watching Ness. If she had turned her X-ray visor on, than she would have seen his heart start to thump exceedingly fast.

                     "Dear god. It's terrible! How can Link have become this Keller? Are you sure?"

                     "Oh yes. He told us himself. And that's not all. Saria, tell Ness what Keller did to you."

                     Saria shuddered. The pain had been terrible. She didn't want to remember. "I was a Kokiri. They are a race of child spirits, who never age after they reach 10. I had been 10 for hundreds of years. While we were escaping from Keller, I tried to turn him back to the light. He… took it as an insult, and while we were waiting for Samus to save us, he appeared out of nowhere, and cast an evil spell on me, turning me into a normal Hylian. Stupidly, I laughed at him, telling him I didn't feel any different. Then he cast a second spell, aging me 4 years in 10 seconds. Do you know what its like? Being in a single form for so long, and then having it taken from you? Going from immortal to mortal? And his expression… I could feel it… not one of hatred, not the one he wore when he looked at Marth, but a terrible peace. He didn't even care what he had done, provided I was out of the way. I shudder to think what he's done to the other Kokiri."

                     "Oh my. Then Link, he has become a monster…" Ness was feeling odd. He wanted to, well, to tell Saria it would be all right, to hold her. He didn't know why, but seeing her upset hurt him. "Don't worry, Saria. Keller can't reach us here. We're in outer space!"

                     "Ooh. Wrong on both counts." Ness turned around slowly. Behind him loomed a dark figure, robed completely in black. The only parts of the being visible beneath the robes and armor were two flaming eyes. "I'm not a monster. If anyone is a monster, its Zelda. I gave up my life for her, saved her, traveled through time and around time for her, and she tossed me aside for that bastard Marth. I like to think of myself as someone who is seeing clearly for the first time." He turned towards the window. "As to how I reached you, well, look outside. Out there is eternal night, and the night is my domain." He snapped back around. "Now, I should kill you, but Emperor Ganon seems to think that you will surrender if we inform you of the horrible calamities that will happen to your people if you don't." 

                     "What do you mean, horrible calamities? You won't do anything horrible, because Ganon doesn't want to rule a universe of the dead." Samus sounded very smug. "You don't frighten us, Link."

                     Keller froze. Samus realized what she had just said. "Did I say Link? I said Link." Keller threw back his cloak, revealing his deadly blades. His eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. Saria moved to interfere before Keller killed them all.

                     "Um, Mighty Lord Keller, perhaps you would care to elaborate on 'horrible calamities'? What have you done personally to move towards this goal of encouraging our surrender?" Keller turned towards her. 

                     "What have I done? Lets see…" He snapped his fingers, and a black book appeared. Saria and Malon gasped. "Hmm? Oh. Tell me, do either of you know what the word Keller means?"

                     "Yes.  In the Gerudo tongue, it means prosecutor, in the ancient Hylian tongue, it means vampire..."

                     "Yes. And as a prosecutor, I should have records, should I not? And these are the true records. They can not lie. Takes a great deal of magic to summon them, but I have a lot of magic. Now… what have I done? Turned Talon into a cockroach, and stepped on him, though oddly enough he survived and escaped to my dungeons. Should have made him a ladybug. Awakened Death Mountain, so not even the Gorons can stay there without being burned horribly. Turned the Gerudo and those Hylians loyal to me loose on the Hylians that are not. The complete extinction of the Shiekah. Polluting the rivers of Hyrule so that the Zora race can no longer move freely. And as for the Kokiri, killing all but 10, and destroying the Great Deku Tree, probably saw them off." Ness realized what was wrong. Here was someone saying he had done all these horrible things, but he had no emotion about it. Not even satisfaction. Keller was a man of ice. The book disappeared. His voice lowered in pitch, so that none of them could hear it. "As well as some other atrocities, under the moonlight."

                     "How did you kill the Great Deku Tree?" Malon asked. "I thought he was invincible."

                     "Oh, he was. Took a great deal of effort, but finally I hit upon it. What weapon destroys magic? I thought long and hard, but I could only think of one powerful enough for the job. What was I to do but play my trump card?"

                     "Oh no. Link! You didn't! Not to the Great Deku Tree! Link, how could you do it to the one who raised you?" Keller seemed more amused than angered by this outburst. The only sign that he was unhappy were his hands moving to his daggers.

                     "What did he do? What weapon could have destroyed something that's invincible?" Ness asked.

                     "He used… Oh, I can't say it. He used the _Senmounto__ Dern._ The great destroyer."

                     "Or to call it by its proper name, _Yrenato__ Senfoun_. SoulBlighter." As the words left Keller's mouth, a chill ran down their spines. "That blasted tree split open like a ripe melon." He swished his cloak around him, revealing that behind his left dagger, he kept another weapon. The scabbard was silver, but what was visible of the blade within seemed to absorb light, managing the near impossible task of being darker than the robes around it. Saria and Malon did the triangle symbol over their left breasts. "The blade that destroyed Hylia, that placed the curse of the ancients upon the king of Ikana. And now, the destroyer of the Kokiri Forest."

                     "Then it's true what they say about evil magic. Those who use it lose their ability to create or see beauty, or to do any good, becoming mere weapons in the hands of their master Ganon. I pity you, Link, for you have lost your soul. Only a soulless being can use SoulBlighter and live." There was only the slightest trace of the fright and sadness she must be feeling. Malon's face, on the other hand, was a picture of terror. Ness and Samus made mental notes to ask about this SoulBlighter if they survived.

                     "Saria, if I've lost the ability to create beauty, then how do you explain the beauty of your current body?" Keller mocked her. "I think that's a very nice piece of work for someone who can't see beauty. If you want, I can create more right now!"

                     "No, you can't. And you didn't create this body. I would have developed it eventually anyway, without the second spell you cast." 

                     "Is that a challenge?"

                     "What if it is?"

                     "Then my response will be…" A wave of black fire shot out from his hand, burning off Saria's clothes. Ness's throat dried. He knew it was wrong to look, but he couldn't help himself. He had never seen someone so beautiful… 

                     "Ahhh!" Saria squealed. Ness was jolted out of his examinations and he hastily looked away. But Keller on the other hand, moved in closer, cupping one of her round, full breasts in each gauntlet. 

                     "Well, Saria? Do you agree? Personally, I can't imagine what I once saw in these things. But a lot of things have happened since I was attracted to women. My death, for a start. Now, all I have left is hatred, a hunger for revenge, and for some reason, a bizarre craving for the blood of virgins. Well, any blood will do, really, but virgin blood is the sweetest. But I'm not sure you qualify. After all, it's been what? A week since you were put in this body?" He removed his mask, and opened his mouth, smiling at her. Samus and Malon suddenly screamed. Putting his own consciousness behind their eyes, Ness saw what they were screaming about. Keller had fangs where other people had teeth. His canines were long and sharp. Something nagged at Ness's mind. Keller had said yes when Saria had mentioned vampires. And now he said he was dead. Keller lowered his eyes down until they were level with Saria's. "Trust in me Saria. I will not harm you. Do not fight. Just let me drink of your blood…" He squeezed Saria's breasts. There was no resistance. "Good…" Samus and Malon were frozen. Their minds were asleep. Ness knew it was up to him. Keller was paying too much attention to his meal.

                     "PK Fire!" Keller suddenly caught on fire. He dropped Saria, snarling. He turned towards Ness. 

                     "So, you want to fight the prince of evil? Then let's make things interesting." A black cloud surrounded Keller. When it cleared, he was gone. In his place was a monster. His pointed ears were no longer cat-like. Instead, they resembled nothing so much as those of a bat.  His skin was pasty white. His eyes glowed yellow. Huge claws came from the tips pf his dexterous fingers, each looking sharp enough to pierce the walls of the ship. "Then, die! And when you are dead, know that you will join me in darkness!" He ran forward and grabbed Ness by the neck, holding him off the ground.

                     "No!" Ness struggled, but to no avail. He could feel his will draining from him. "One of you, help me."

                     "Please. Your friends can't help." He lowered Ness so that their eyes met. He was about to begin his catechism when a bright light filled the space ship. "Nooo!" Keller shriveled up and disappeared. "I'll return! It won't work twice!" Ness turned to his savior to see Saria standing there, her hands glowing, without any thought of modesty.

                     "Did he hurt you? Are you all right?" She looked around. "What are you staring at?" She followed Ness's gaze. "Oh." She blushed and covered herself. 

                     "Am I all right? I'm better now." He passed her his jacket. "Here. Put this on." Since he was taller than she was, it covered most of her important parts. "Now go find more clothes. I'll wake them up." She smiled and left. As he moved to return Samus and Malon to reality, he kept thinking about her smile. He would have to protect her from Keller.

To recap, Dreamland is depopulated, King Dedede dies, Saria starts to fall in love with Ness, and then Keller tries to drink Saria's blood… Now, some of you may not like this, but the theme is not just Action/Adventure. It's also an Angst genre story. And I think I might end up putting this in R. also, yes I do have a Ness/Saria romance in the cards, plus a Malon/Roy romance, a Marth/Zelda romance (They are married, so it'd be kind of silly not to have a little one), and a CF/Samus romance. Don't worry, though. No lemons!

To tell you the truth, I dislike the 2-genre system. I think that a 4-genre system would work better. For instance, in a 4-genre system, this would be Action/Adventure; Angst; Horror and Romance. 

                     And if one day, you log on and look for this story and its not there, I decided to make it R. Actually, I'll put it to a vote. In your review, say whether I should just go on as I have and keep it a PG-13, or whether I should go full throttle and make it an R. If it's an R, I could allow myself almost complete freedom in this story, but if it changes, some people would be unable to read it. Cough

                     Please Review. Flames, fantastics, I don't care. Just remember to vote!    


	9. Troubling Times

I am deliberately not naming anybody, but several people decided to e-mail me their vote. It seems that the overwhelming result is… keep it PG-13. Also, one or two people questioned the need for a vote. So here it is. Here in Australia, and possible the U.K. as well, we have two ratings in between PG-13 and R. In order, they are M and MA-15+. I don't know if those ratings exist in the U.S. or not, but they don't exist on Fanfiction.net. So, in the U.S, Independence Day, to pick a random example, got rated PG-13, while here, it got M. What that boils down to is, basically, there is very little gray area between PG-13 and R on this site. Sadly, I have a basically truthful nature, so if I was to do all I wanted with this story, I would have to make it R. I know that a lot of people 'bend' the ratings rules on this site, but I can't do that. Of course, the PG-13 story will be just as good as the R. Maybe when I've finished, I can do some sort of 'Special Features' thing, with the R rated scenes, and the deleted/lost scenes. Sorry about the prudery, but while some rule bending is all right, what I had in mind would kind of make it an R by default if one of the Administrators stopped by. Or get it deleted, which I'm sure no one would want. Right. That's my rant sorted out. If there's anyone left, enjoy the story.

Nintendo owns anything and everything connected to StarFox. All other characters in this chapter are owned by… Nintendo! Except for Keller, who after a quick run through of the copyright laws is sufficiently different from Link to not be owned by them. So he's mine. No one else can use him without my express permission.

**Chapter 9: Troubling Times**

_Part 17: Lylat Wars_

                     "Fox!" The transmitter crackled to life. "Fox! Are you there?"

                     "I'm sorry, this is Krystal. Fox is in the shower right now."

                     "Right. This is Bill. We  need you guys as soon as you can get here!" Loud explosions could be heard on the transmitter. "Quickly!"

                     "Right. We're coming… As an aside, what happened to General Pepper?

                     "I'll tell you when you get here! There's no time!"

                     The Great Fox turned around and started heading for Corneria…

                                          *                   *                   *

                     The Starfox team leaped out of the Great Fox. A scene of devastation met their eyes. Falco turned to Fox, and said, "What happened? There's not even a trace of the defenders!" Most of the buildings were destroyed. Arwings and Landmaster tanks lay strewn everywhere. While thousands of Andross's robotic henchmen lay scattered around, it was obvious that evil had triumphed here. 

                     "I don't know, Falco. Everyone, stay close! We should find our answers up at the General's base."

                     "Oh, but that would be a bad thing to do, Fox." The Starfox team turned around to see a wildly grinning Wolf O'Donnell, flanked by the members of Starwolf. "I'm afraid that our allies have ensured that there is no one left up there." 

                     "What's the deal, Wolf? You might be twisted, evil assassins, but Starwolf has never been a team of mass murderers. What changed?" Slippy's hand was on his blaster. He was keeping a close eye on his opposing number, the Lizard.

                     "Oh, but you don't listen, do you? He said our new allies handled it. We're here to put an end to our teams' rivalry, by killing all members of Starfox!" Pigma laughed. "And I see you replaced that pathetic buffoon, Peppy, with a lovely female specimen!"

                     "What new allies? And so what if Andross has the planet, or the system! The Federation will never allow evil to take a planet!"

                     "Wow. You really have been out in the sticks, Fox. The Federation no longer exists. Emperor Ganondorf saw to that. He is the new master of the galaxy. And Andross, the governor of the entire Lylat system. Face it, Fox. Evil has triumphed!" Wolf threw back his head and laughed.

                     "Wait a second. Ganondorf? Wasn't he that evil guy we met at the tournament, Fox?" 

                     "I think so, Falco. But he obviously was more powerful than we thought! Emperor Ganondorf? Hah!"

                     "And what's so funny, anthropoid?" A tall woman walked out of the rubble. The Starwolf members backed away. "Well?"

                     "Oh, nothing. Just Ganondork being emperor of the galaxy."

                     "You dare… to insult my master?" The woman was surrounded by a black nimbus. When it cleared, she was replaced by a giant spider. "Then die!"

                     "Oops. That's a big insect. But we can handle it, right?" Starfox grabbed their blasters. So did Starwolf. And the arachnid lashed out with one leg, shooting small orbs of darkness at the Great Fox. "Maybe not." The Great Fox faded away into nothingness. "Hey! Where did our ship go? Where's Peppy?"

                     "Your ship no longer exists. But don't worry, you'll join it soon enough." All of a sudden, in a smoky cloud, a bat appeared. It changed into a black figure. "What is it, Keller?"

                     "Veran, stop playing with your food. Let Starwolf handle it. The master wants to see us."

                     "But…"

                     "Now!"

                     "You don't give me orders, Keller."

                     "Oh really? Allow me to disagree." The black figure raised its left hand and pointed it at one of the remaining buildings. The building crumbled into dust. He then pointed at Veran. "Veran, I command you to come to the council chamber immediately. Failure to do so will mean that Ganon will have to find another Lieutenant."

                     "You make your point graphically. Very well, Keller." Veran disappeared. 

                     "As always." Keller turned to Wolf. "As for you, take care of these pathetic buffoons. But first, I want to know where the survivors of our attack went."

                     "As far as we know, they have joined the other federation remnants on the Harvest Moon. But that system is too well defended for us to get in."

                     "That is a problem. I will inform the council of your service to the cause. After all, we might not need Andross around forever…" Keller faded away.

                     "Who were those two?" Krystal asked.

                     "The insect was Queen Veran. The man was Lord Keller. Veran is slightly insane. Keller's the one to watch out for. He's a vampire, and the only reason that you don't have his fangs in your neck is that he's in a hurry. On Venom, I saw him drink one of Andross's concubines. But enough about that. We have to kill you. Just like we killed Pepper." 

                     "You killed Pepper? You monsters!"

                     "Oh, we're not monsters." Several dozen Moblins ran to them. "They are. We're just… facilitators."

                     "Well, this is the end, team. Looks like we're going to die. Falco, sorry about painting your Arwing bright pink. Krystal, I think you're hot. Slippy, I'm sorry I called you an effeminate toad."

                     "That was you? You bastard! Well, I was going to apologize for painting your Landmaster purple, but now…"

                     "Why, McCloud… I must confess, I've always felt the same thing about you."

                     "That's all right, Fox. I'm sorry I painted the target sign on your Arwing." 

                     "If you goodie-goodie two-shoes' could stop being sickly sweet for a few seconds, we would like to kill you. That all right?" All of a sudden, a blast enveloped them. When it cleared, Starwolf and the Moblins were lying unconscious, and the Blue Falcon was hovering above their bodies. Captain Falcon leaned out and waved to them.

                                          "Let's move, people. We have to hurry and get to the Harvest Moon! Mario, prepare the landing sequence." The spaceship landed and extended the boarding ramp. They all ran up the ramp, and were about to make it to safety when…

                     "Slippy's hit!"

                     "I'm going down, Fox!"

                     Wolf and Pigma pocketed their lasers as the Moblins ran forward and picked up the bodies. Fox and Krystal could do nothing but watch…

_Part 18: Let the Lord of Chaos Rule_

                     This is a room in Hylia. We have seen it before, just before the Hylian nations fell to the onslaught of evil. Now it is once more a hive of activity. Ganondorf's lieutenants are awaiting with dread the orders of their master. Behind them, their servants sit snarling at each other.           

                     "You know what this is about, don't you. He wants to walk the real world again. Can't you see that?" Majora looks around at his partners. They all nod. 

                     "It would mean an end to our freedom." Onyx noted sadly.

                     "It would mean an end to our lives! He won't need us anymore. And will one of you please pass me the bottle marked A-type?" Keller's servants hand it to him. He opens it and pours it into his goblet. "But what can we do?" He is about to start drinking but he stops. "I'm sorry, would you like some?"

                     "What is it?"

                     "Blood of Virgin. It's delicious."

                     "No, thank you. And we could… turn freelance…"

                     "Abandon the Great Lord in his hour of need! No! We should help him escape! He will richly reward us, I'm sure of it!" Veran snorted, "We should be pleased he wishes to return to the world! He could help us crush our enemies!"

                     "Hmph. All well and good, but what is involved in freeing him? Anyone know? Keller?"

                     "Well, we would have to kill the 8 sages. I've made a start, I killed Darunia myself, a large water dragon ate Ruto, Impa's dead, I think Emperor Ganon killed Rauru, Onyx, you killed Nabooru. That leaves", He practically spat the names out, "Zelda, and Saria."

                     "Then we have to find the Triforce of Wisdom, and unite it with the pieces already in Ganon's hands." Onyx shook his head. "An impossible task, because the minute we took Hyrule, it shattered and disappeared. Could be scattered anywhere around the galaxy."

                     "Followed by a royal sacrifice." Majora laughed its watery laugh. "That at least is simple. Arryl is still here, isn't she?"

                     "And finally, one of us, and by us, I mean our servants, has to pull the Master Sword out of its rock." Veran sighed.

                     "More trouble then its worth, my minions?" The four of them leapt to their feet as Ganondorf's image appeared in the crystal ball. 

                     "Oh no, Great Lord! We would never dream of abandoning you!" Keller motioned to the others. They all jumped in with assurances.

                     "Good. Then perhaps you can clear something up for me, my most trusted disciple."

                     "Yes my lord. Anything."

                     "Where are the rebels hiding?"

                     "Barbells, my lord? We know of no Barbells. Perhaps you have been misinform…urk" Keller was lifted off his seat by an incredible force. "Oh, _Rebels! They're hiding on the Harvest Moon."_

                     "And why do we allow them to gather, Keller?" Onyx asked.

                     "Look, do I tell you how to run an army? No. So you shouldn't tell a vampire how to hunt live prey."

                     "Very good, my servants. But, stop bothering with them. Your earlier assumptions were correct. I do wish to escape my prison. To do that, I need the Triforce of Wisdom. Veran, Onyx, Majora. The three of you are to send forces to find it. You may use any means necessary. I don't care if you have to kill every other villain in the galaxy, just find it! Keller, kill Saria. If you need to, wipe out the entire Harvest Moon. You may use any magic, any warrior, any assassin you desire, just kill her." He fades away. The crystal ball shatters.

                     "Which one of you boneheads told him about the rebels?" Onyx demanded.

                     "Why does he always need to shatter those balls? They take a great deal of magic!" Keller gathered the glass together.

                     "Who does he think he is, treating us like common minions. He needs us more than we need him!" Veran said angrily.

                     "What did he mean 'if we kill every other villain'? They're all on our side!" Majora wondered.

                     "Where could those pieces be?" Veran, Majora and Onyx leave with their servants.

                     "When would it be a good time to kill Saria?" Keller and his servants become Keese and fly out.

Please R&R! Please!


	10. Harvest Moon

I own nothing! Not a thing! I also have another story up now. A Familiar Stranger. So when you're done with this one, then you should check it out! And then review both! I want to hit 30 reviews on this one!

**Chapter 10: Harvest Moon**

_Part 19: A _New Hope___, or a False Hope?_

                     Ness walked along the corridor toweling himself off. He had been overjoyed to learn that the Metroid Hunter had a shower, and for the first time since his hometown had been leveled, he felt clean. Onett. Not a particularly large or important place. It had just been a place to live. And now it was destroyed. His family, his friends, dead. And all because of Mewtwo. Ness wasn't sad. He was angry. He would see them avenged. He would kill Mewtwo. "I swear it."

                     Ness heard a giggle. Standing in front of him was Saria. "Talking to yourself, Ness?" He suddenly felt the towel wasn't enough cover. "I heard that's the first sign of insanity."

                     "I was just… thinking out loud. But what about you? Are you all right?"

                     "I'm fine. Keller won't find an easy target next time he comes a-calling." She laughed. "Though after what happened to him, I don't think he will come without backup. Being set on fire and then being reduced to ashes has that effect on people!"  
  


                     "I'm serious, Saria. You yourself said that spell only works once."

                     "And why are you so worried about me?" Ness pondered his answer. He didn't know. Why was it that the merest thought of her being in danger frightened him immeasurably? "Ponder it and get back to me, Ness." Saria continued along the corridor. She stopped and turned around. "By the way… do you have a crossbow under that towel, or are you just pleased to see me?" Ness looked down and blushed. 

                     "Um…" was what his mouth said, but his eyes said differently.

                     "I… should be going now." Saria turned and almost ran for the safety of her room. Ness stared after her. He sighed. Things were getting complicated. 

                     *                   *                   *

                     Saria ran into the cell she was using as a room, slamming the door behind her. Her heart was pounding. She had no idea what had come over her in the hallway. She walked over to the mirror and stripped. Looking at herself, she could see the markings of Keller's claws on her breasts. But she looked beyond them, and saw another story. She was beautiful, Ness had as good as said. But… the effect he had on her… did she think he was handsome? Were they falling in love? She thought of him. His strong arms, his kind face, the way he had risked his life to save her…

                     A sound behind her made her leap. Ness had walked in. He stared open mouthed, and turned to leave. "I'm sorry. I wanted to speak to you… I had no idea you were getting changed." He started out the door.

                     "Wait… don't go." Saria called up a gust of wind and blew the door shut in front of him. "There. Now, you said you wanted to talk, so talk!"

                     Ness sat down. "Saria, I'm sorry, but I have an answer."

                     "An answer? For what?" Saria looked at him. She tried to fight it, but a certain part of her wanted to see what he was hiding beneath that towel…

                     "In the hall way. You asked me why I was so worried about you. Well, I have an answer."

                     "Really? What was it?" She wasn't paying much attention. She was looking at the hair on his chest, and wondered why he didn't have to cover up his top like she did. After all, his chest was having the same effect on her as her breasts seemed to have on him.

                     "Well, the long and the short of it is… I love you." He shifted in his seat as if something was uncomfortable. 

                     "Oh, but you can't! We only met a couple of days ago!" She tried to keep from jumping for joy. _I am the Sage of __Forest__! Not a giggling schoolgirl!_

                       "Sometimes that's all it takes. What I want to know is… how do you feel about me?"

                     Saria stared, dumbfounded. Did she love him? Yes. But… was that safe? "Oh, Ness. I can't love you."

                     "Why not?" Ness's expression was sad.

                     "Because Keller will be back. And next time, he will bring friends or more powerful spells. He'll be coming for me, and if you get in his way…"

                     "What are you talking about? Why would Keller be after you?" Ness asked puzzled. 

                     "Asides from the fact that he wants to drink my blood," Saria stated, "he also needs to kill me in order to free Ganondorf from the dark realm."

                     "Why? Why are you so important?"

                     "I am the Sage of Forest. I help to maintain the spell that keeps him inside the dark realm. There are 7 of us. Or there were…" She didn't want to mention that she was pretty sure the others were all dead.

                     "And he needs to kill you to free his master?"

                     "Yes. I never thought I would say this about Link… but he is the most dangerous creature in the galaxy." She started to cry. "Link was an excellent hunter before he died, and now that he's a vampire, there is no place anyone can go to be safe. Vampires are the greatest hunters anywhere. Capable only of rage and hatred, preferring the weak to the strong, they can take many forms, teleport anywhere. And they are the only predators to prefer intelligent life to other creatures. Keller will come for me… and he'll kill me when he does. I can't run fast enough or far enough." The tears were flowing freely now. "I certainly can't fight him... his magic is much stronger than mine. Those daggers can destroy buildings. And to make it worse… if he draws that sword… then we all die."

                     "Why?" Ness remembered the horrified expression on the Hylians' faces when they saw the sword.

                     "That is SoulBlighter. It is usable only by the dead, or the irrevocably evil. When drawn, it sucks all magic nearby into it, and then earths it in what ever is struck by the blade. The destructive magic spreads out, destroying all life within a couple of miles." Saria buried her face in her hands. "He'll use it on me. I can just see it. He wants me dead. He wants all reminders of who he was destroyed."

                     "Oh my…" Ness felt a touch of worry. Maybe it was for the best if they stayed far away from each other. No! He shouldn't think that. He stood up, and walked to her. Cupping her chin in his hands, he raised her head so their eyes met. "That won't happen. I won't let it happen. He'll find it hard to draw a sword when his cape is on fire." He lowered his head so that it was equal with hers. Then, acting on an impulse, he leaned forward and kissed her. Her eyes grew large, and then they closed. 

                     "Ness… as nice as that feels… I would prefer to keep my bad mood." He pulled back in surprise. "Just kidding…" she leaned forward and brushed her lips on his. "But, I want to get dressed. And shouldn't you get changed?"

                     Ness got up and went to the door, opening it. He turned back and said, "I mean it. I won't let him hurt you." He went back down the corridor.

                     "But what's to keep him from hurting you, you stupid boy?" Saria whispered.

                     *                   *                   *

                     And far away, unbeknownst to her, her every move was being scrutinized by red-glowing eyes. "Yes, Saria. What _is to keep me from hurting him? You?" He smirked. While Saria losing her virginity before he could taste her blood would be irritating, there are many forms of innocence. A predator, she had called him. He liked that. The ultimate predator, that's him. But, he wasn't the only one… "Lilian, gather the rest of the cabal. We're going to the Harvest Moon." After all, Even the ultimate predator occasionally hunted in packs… Why not put an end to this rebellion and kill Saria at the same time?_

                     *                   *                   *

                     "Right, Douglas. We'll meet you there." Samus closed the transmitter and turned to Malon. "Malon, please press the purple button."

                     "Ah. You mean the button that speaks to the rest of the ship?"

                     "Um. Yes. But I prefer to call it the purple button."

                     "Why bother. I'll handle it." She waved her hands. "NESS, SARIA. WE ARE GOING TO THE HARVEST MOON!"

                     "Smart ass Hylian."

_Part 22: The alliance_

                     Captain Falcon looked at his… "I suppose they're my crew," he muttered. "Men" Krystal harrumphed, "woman," Gooey stuck its tongue out, "and bizarre blue blob. We are going to the Harvest Moon to hook up with other rebels. I want all of you on your best behavior. Fox, I want you on the weapons systems. Marth, sit behind me and try to look regal. Mario, you are to sit at the communications console. Krystal, go to the engineers chair. Kirby, sit on the blue chair and try to look like a pilot. Rick, curl up on the sofa. And Gooey, stop eating that computer. Now stop sucking on my leg. That tongue is scarier than Yoshi's!" 

                     "Captain, we are being hailed!" 

                     "Mario, was that sarcasm? I couldn't tell."

                     "Maybe. I think I narrowly crossed the line into sardonism, but I'm not sure."

                     "Ah. On screen." He turned towards the screen. "Mario, I said 'On screen'. The rest of you heard me, right?"

                     "Mario, press the blue glowing thing." Krystal shouted. The picture appeared.

                     "Captain Falcon! What a pleasant surprise! We thought you dead." Phoenix (Note: F-Zero GC), said.

                     "Phoenix? Why are you there?"

                     "Um… well… I should have told you guys, but the president is, or rather was, my father."

                     "Ah. So you're in charge?"

                     "Good God, no. This is a republic, not a monarchy. That honor falls to General Pepper. He'd greet you, but he's busy meeting with the crew of the Metroid Hunter."

                     "So the General's alive?" Fox asked.

                     "Yeah. Wait a sec, is that… King Marth?"

                     "Yeah, that's him."

                     "Great! We need him to tell us this Keller fellow's tactics, and the defenses of the planet Hylia." Behind him, a man walked up and stared. "Oh yes. This is Lycis. He's in charge of the few Lycean troops we managed to save. He's also from Altea, Marth. Maybe you have friends in common?" Lycis screamed and attacked the screen. "Lycis? What is the meaning of this?"

                     "Marth! How dare you show your face to me! You son of a… no, I can't insult your mother. It's not her fault she raised a traitor! You monster! How dare you work with the rebellion! After what you did to Altea, you belong with the enemy!"

                     "Lycis, I…" Marth turned away.

                     "Can't hear the truth, after all this time?" Lycis spat. "I heard the Hylians call you king now. How long did it take you to let their enemies destroy them too?"

                     "Lycis, that's enough!" Phoenix tried to push the fellow away.

                     "Where's Lord Roy? Did you kill him like you killed your father? Or Ellis?"

                     "No!" 

                     "Ah. You didn't kill any of them, did you. You let their enemies kill them. All the difference in the world." Lycis was suddenly surrounded by Hylians. They all looked at the screen and then kneeled.

                     "My lord, we Hylian Knights are at your command." Two of them grabbed Lycis. "Say the word, and we will kill him."

                     "No. Don't kill him. Just… take him and calm him down." The Hylian Knight clapped his right arm to his left breast and they all wheeled off, taking the cursing Lycis with them.

                     Phoenix looked apologetic. "Sorry about that. Um… where is Lord Roy? If he was here, we would no longer need that madman."

                     "Roy is trapped in Keller's dungeon. And I don't know Keller's tactics. He and a selection of elite troops appeared in the capital by magic, and in a couple of days had control of the entire country. I'm surprised that any Hylian Knights or wizards survived to join the rebellion. And that madman, as you call him, is one of the greatest generals in the galaxy." Marth sighed.

                     "If you say so. Mario, a few of your friends are here too." He called behind him. Yoshi, Donkey Kong, and Toad ran up.

                     "Yoshi is happy to see you!" The green dinosaur jumped up and down with excitement.

                     "Yes, my friend. I am glad to see you too. I'm lucky we met. Funky Kong is an alright pilot with a plane, but if I never get in his 'barrel rocket' again, it will be too soon." Captain Falcon blinked. He would never get over a giant ape that sounds more educated than him.

                     "Mario! Thank god you're here! Bowser and Luigi have leveled the entire castle to build a temple to some guy named Ganon! I think they snapped."

                     "Ganon wants to be worshipped? He's the one who snapped!"

                     Phoenix shooed them off by telling them they could be at the landing sight. Then he turned to Kirby. "Um… Kirby, isn't it? Yes. Well, a couple of Waddle-Dees are here, and there is a group of people calling themselves Warpstar Knights, but they're all in conference. Captain Falcon, you have permission to land. Phoenix out." The screen faded to black.

                     "Marth, what was that guy talking about?"

                     "I'll tell you later."

                     "But"

                     "Later!"

Heh. I'm not sure if there is a Fire Emblem Character called Lycis or not. I think he's in 2 or something. I would appreciate being told any information anyone has on Fire Emblem. I could wait a few months until it's released here, but that's a prequel so it wouldn't really work with Marth or Roy. So, if you have any information on it, send it here to TheSlyestWolf@Hotmail.com . Thanks. As to how I get the information I do have on anything… everyone should be a member of IGN or GameSpy. I suppose I could have used Pico, and not some new character, but I never liked Pico.

Next chapter, the heroes meet again. And for one brief moment, they feel safe. But where ever Saria is, Keller is always close behind. And this time, he's brought friends… lots of friends.

I am aware that last chapter I said 8 sages. I was wrong. There are 7.

"Hey!"

What is it, Roy?

"When do I show up?"

Later, Roy. Much, much, later. Keller! You're prisoner is pestering me!

"No! Don't call him!"

"Right, Roy. Let's go."

Smile at him, Keller.

"Yes."

"Ahhhh!"

"Come on, you stupid lifeform"

"What are you?"

"I'm dead."

And they left. Sheesh, being an author is tough.


	11. Fruit of the Mysterious Tree

Okay… I got my information on Fire Emblem. Horribly enough, it seems despite the fact that Dolua completely destroyed Altea in FE3, every single character in it loves Marth so much, they don't blame him at all. And this is meant to be a quasi-realistic game! So, Lycis is here to stay. Think of him as one of the "Nameless Soldiers". A bitter, twisted nameless soldier. So, now the number of characters I own in this story rises to 6. Keller, Lycis, and the 4 members of Keller's cabal (Well, you can't have just one vampire, and once you have two, it's hard to resist adding another. And once you have 4, you might as well have 5). Of course, Keller and his cabal brought servants with them. Lot's of servants. Oddly enough, most of Keller's living soldiers died of a mysterious plague soon after they conquered Hyrule. I say plague. Since the symptoms of this 'plague' resembled two bite marks on the neck, and dying in bed, I think we all know what this 'plague' really was. Of course, when you work for a vampire, dying only means you no longer need vacations….

I own nothing! Except for the above characters

Chapter 11: Fruit of the Mysterious Tree 

Part 21: Planetfall 

                When Marth leapt off the Blue Falcon, 10 Hylian Knights surrounded him. 90 more warriors waited by a small collection of buildings, near what looked like a large group of hundreds of Hylians. A Hylian Wizard spun into visibility overhead. "People of the Hylian Nations! Behold the King of Hyrule! And by ancient treaty, as the other kings are dead, Emperor of all Hylia!" The crowd cheered. "Master of Hylia in exile!" The warriors clapped their weapons to their shields. "He who will lead us back to our world!" More Hylian Soldiers and Wizards appeared nearby. The crowd exploded into loud cheers. The wizards shot fireballs up into the air. Marth just stood in shock. "With King Marth here, and with the Sage of Forest back in safe hands, our victory is assured! Now, let us take his majesty to meet with General Pepper!" The 10 Hylian Knights forced a way through the crowd, leading Marth through. The crowd and other warriors followed at a respectful distance.

Captain Falcon looked after him. "Well, whatever happens when I step out had better be incredibly big." He remarked to Mario. He walked outside. And was met by… nothing. "Well, that's anticlimactic." Phoenix ran up, surrounded by Federation soldiers. 

"Oh. Hello Captain Falcon. Have you seen Marth?"

"A large group of Hylians just carried him off to meet with General Pepper."

"What! Damn it! I thought we could head them off! They're on the other side of the moon, for God's sake! Bloody magic users." He turned to go. But turned back to Captain Falcon. "Impressive, was it?"

"I'm not likely to forget it, no. I've never seen so many Hylians march in the same direction before. Even the commoners walked in step."

"Ha! You think that was bad, wait until you see them fight. They all fight independently, without officers or musicians, yet… their separate attacks are horribly united. And they all attack at the same time. Even their horses charge in step."

"That sounds terrible." Captain Falcon and Phoenix walked after Marth's escort.

Mario jumped out. Donkey Kong, Yoshi and Toad ran up. "Hello, guys."

"Hello, Mario. Pepper wants to see you. Shall we see him, or would you prefer to catch up on old times?"

"Let's see what the dog man wants, shall we?" They went in the same direction as the others.           

                Kirby floated off. Gooey rolled off, and they were both landed on by Rick, who tripped and fell, squashing them. "Woob-Woob-Woob! Get off me, you jokers!" Kirby shouted. After shorting that out, they walked, waddled and rolled after Mario.

                Fox jumped down and offered his hand to Krystal. Krystal took it and carefully jumped after him. "Now, should we follow them, or should we find Bill and see if he can give the two of us some Arwings?"

                "Let's meet the general first, shall we? And let's take it slowly. It's been ages since I've been on the Harvest Moon and I want to enjoy it."

                "Right Krystal."

                Harvest Moon had changed very little despite being the rebel base. As Krystal and Fox followed the well- worn trench left by the moving crowd, they saw farmers in the fields, tending cows. It was as if time had stood still here. In the sky above, the gas giant Orena cast a yellow light on its moon. Far away, the sun cast little light at all. "It's so… beautiful, Fox."

"Yes it is, Krystal."

"Hey, Fox! Krystal!" Bill drove up to them in a Landmaster. "You two need a lift! The general wants to see you."

Shrugging, Krystal and Fox climbed aboard.

_Part 22: Requiem_

                Samus, Malon, Saria and Ness waited impatiently for their friends. One of the guards in attendance looked out, and then pulled out a magniscope. "There appears to be… a very large dust cloud moving towards us."

                The heroes leapt to their feet. Saria looked out. "Is that… Marth?" A blue haired man could be seen within the crowd. "It is Marth! And… that's a lot of Hylians!"

                Soon, the crowd was in front of the meeting hall. A group of soldiers dispersed the commoners, and then Marth, a small selection of soldiers, and a few nobles walked in to the main room. Marth looked very embarrassed. "Oh. Hello, Samus, Malon. Hi, Saria." His gaze moved to Ness. "My word… that's not Ness, is it?"

                "Hello, Marth." One of the guards stepped forward.

                "You call him King Marth, peasant!" Ness took a step back. Marth waved the soldier away.

                "It's all right, Enris. He's an old friend."

                Captain Falcon and Phoenix walked in. "Samus! How nice to see you again! How many did you save?"

                "Just one. It's hard to save anyone when you're being pursued by a vampire."

                "What are you talking about? All you told me in your transmission was that Keller had attacked you."

                "Keller's a vampire. A very scary vampire."

                "You know, I always thought that Link would turn into some powerful" He was clubbed by a Hylian.

                "Stupid human! How dare you insult the memory of Link!" Marth shook his head.

                "Enris, I'm afraid he's telling the truth." The Hylians gasped. "Keller and Link are one and the same." They all started mumbling amongst themselves.

                "So, what have I missed?" Mario, D.K., Yoshi and Toad walked in. "Hello, Samus, Saria, Malon. Nice to see you again, Ness."

                "No more than we've missed, I'm sure." Fox, Krystal and Bill ran in. "The General should be here soon. Wait. Where are the hamster, marshmallow and ball of putty?" Said creatures entered. "Splendid. The gang's all here than."

                "Good. I am pleased to welcome you all to the rebellion." The doors at the far end opened, and General Pepper entered, flanked by Lylat soldiers. A contingent of federation warriors followed. "We will unite the goodly folk of the galaxy, and restore the federation. Soon, we will all be heroes!" All the soldiers fired into the air. General Pepper waited until they were done, and resumed. "Marth, I am especially pleased that you are here. While you may not know much about the Dark Realm, you can order the wizards to share their knowledge with us. They refused to say anything without an order from a noble, and the nobles refused to take orders from anyone but you." Marth glared at the nobles with him. They all shuffled their feet.

                "Of course, what can we expect from the Hylians except stupidity? After all, they made Marth king, didn't they?" Lycis pushed through the crowd. The Hylians went for their weapons. Lycean troops forced their way in front of him. The rebellion was on the verge of coming apart at the seams right there when federation troops grabbed Lycis. 

                "Lycis, that is uncalled for. Stop trying to drive a wedge between factions." General Pepper said angrily. "What if imperial troops appeared now? They would win easy because we're split along past grievances. We must come together!"

                "Oh, don't do that. That makes our job so much harder." Keller appeared at the front door. He looked at Saria. "Surprised?"

                "Who are you? Are you imperial?"

                "I am Lord Keller. King of Hyrule. Prince of Darkness. Lord of Lies. The Master Vampire. Take your pick." Keller threw back his cowl and removed his mask, treating them all to a smile. The Hylians screamed and made the triangle symbol over their hearts. Keller laughed. "Your goddesses can't help you now, rebels."

                "Link, they are your goddesses too!" Saria dared to say.

                "How many times must I tell you," He formed a fireball, "Not to call me that!" He threw the fireball at Saria, who ducked, letting it impact on the wall behind her. "I serve a different master now."

                "Whoever you are, you're a fool to come here alone. I have seven million soldiers in this fort alone!" Keller was unimpressed by Pepper's statement.

                "And if I wanted to, I could have sixteen billion soldiers from all over the galaxy come to destroy this entire planet. But, I didn't. Nor, might I add, did I come alone. Lilian!" A beautiful, yet pale woman walked in and took a place on his left.

                "Which is the one, Keller? I thirst." Lilian looked around. Her canines were clearly evident, and her cheeks were stained red.

                "The boy in the baseball cap is the one I want you to go for. " Ness took a step back. "Nosferatu!" A horrible bat thing ran into the room. It resembled nothing so much as Keller in his true form. It lurched to a stop on the opposite side of Keller as Lilian. "Grim!" A man strode in. He had a well trimmed beard, and a military bearing. The overall effect of a soldier was increased by the fact that he wore an ancient Hylian general uniform. The only things that detracted from the effect were the red spots in the white beard. He took a space next to Lilian. "Tuthmoss!" A mummy walked in. He unwrapped the bandage on his head and gazed out at the people with one unblinking eye. He moved next to Nosferatu. "Now, you might be able to beat each of us on our own, and maybe even in pairs, but…" 

"Can you beat us together?" Lilian asked.

"And of course, there is the fact that… we brought friends." Grim laughed.

"Can we kill them?" Nosferatu jumped up and down. Losing patience, he grabbed the nearest soldier and bit him. The soldier keeled over. Nosferatu chuckled until Tuthmoss slapped him. "Ow."

"Wait until Lord Keller says! My lord, may we?"

Saria stepped out. "There is no need to kill all of these people, Keller. I will go quietly." She stepped forward and kneeled. Ness gave a strangled cry. "I sacrifice my life so that they can survive." She was yanked back by a Hylian Knight. Ness's heart calmed down.

"The hell you will. If he kills you, than Ganon is one step closer to being free." 

"Hmm. It is an interesting proposal, Saria" Keller looked amused. "But… I would rather kill you _and these people. Kill two birds with one stone." The vampires all laughed. Then, as one, they shouted "Black Pentagram!" A giant 5 pointed star appeared in the air and spun. All of a sudden, hundreds of Stalfos knights appeared. Stalkids leapt out of thin air and speared the nearest soldiers on their claws. Stalfos club warriors dropped down and started spinning their bones. Poe appeared in a burst of darkness. Gibdos and Redeads formed out of nothing. _

                "Now you will feel my wrath! You will die and return, and than you shall all serve Ganon as I serve Ganon!

                Sorry to end on a cliffhanger, but I can't fit it all in! Next chapter, a massive battle! Who lives? Who dies? Who is reduced to his constituent atoms in an attempt to send him back to his tomb? Who dies, and comes back to life to kill his former friends? Find out next time! (No soldiers were harmed in the making of this story)

Please review! Flames, Fantastics, whatever! I want reviews!     


	12. Ciao for now!

I actually have the final chapter written! It's profoundly moving. Sadly, _you _people won't see it for around 20 more chapters. Could be more, could be less. Don't worry, though. If you people truly want to spoil the story, send me e-mail and I'll consider sending it to you. I would prefer not to, so you must have a very, very good reason. Note: Because I want to see it is not a good reason. Because I am dying of a terminal disease and won't other wise see it _is_. And if you lie about that, shame on you! I'll cry if you don't is a _very_ bad reason to try on a cynical person like me. However, a few (3) people on the site I will show it to when asked, no reason needed. These are people who are doing me a favor (K, HD), or are in charge of something I am a member of (ML), or who I just like (Hi, Thais!). A couple of people are on the 'maybe I will, maybe I won't' list. You know who you are. Before you ask, the final chapter is the only other chapter I have written. Any branches in plot will tie together there. It is set in stone. I have the epilogue(s) finished too, but there is more chance of me ripping off my hand then there is of you people seeing them before their time. Finally, I am going to summarize the massive forces engaged in battle next chapter, followed by their battle cry.
    **The forces of light
    **Mario: Warrior plumber. "If I whack a zombie in the groin with a wrench, does it feel pain? You don't know? Let's find out!"
    Samus Aran: Beautiful bounty huntress. "Eat an ice beam, undead monsters!"
    Marth: Exiled king of Hyrule. "For those whom I love, I can't lose!"
    Fox: Starfox survivor "There are too many of them!"
    Krystal: Starfox survivor "Shut up, Fox. Just shoot!"
    Ness: Psychic boy wonder, who is in love with Saria. "I'll save you… once someone saves me."
    Saria: Sage of Forest. "By the power of the forest, I command you to return to your sleep! Normally that works"
    Donkey Kong: A highly educated ape. "I'm dreadfully sorry, but I'm going to squash you"
    Kirby: Hungry pink marshmallow. "Mmm. Zombie"
    Gooey: Blue licking ball of clay. "Gooey lick!"
    Lycis: Grudge-holding Altean. "If I leave, than that idiot Marth will kill them all. And by them, I mean our own side."
    Yoshi: Scary green dinosaur that will eat anything. "Stalfos bones taste good! Like chicken!"
    General Pepper: Former governor of the Lylat system, now head of rebellion. "Hurt them, hurt them! Save me, save me!"
    Captain Falcon: F-Zero racer, now full time rescuer. "Why won't you die?"s
    Malon: Cowgirl with an attitude. "Augh!"
    Phoenix: President's son, also a 3 star general in the rebellion. "For the federation!"
    Toad: Small mushroom. Doubtful that he'll be much help, but you never know. "Look out!"
    Rick: Strange hamster thing. Need I say more? "You can't catch me!"
    500 hundred Hylian knights: Loyal to king and country. While their standard issue goodly weapons might not be much help against the vampires, they'll take a lot of the normal undead down. "For the greater good!"
    100 Hylian Wizards: Almost unopposed by enemy mages, they should have the run of the magical show. Unless a vampire decides he want's them dead. "Um, magic shouldn't do that, should it?"
    1000 Lylat soldiers, led by Bill: While it is doubtful they understand what they are dealing with, their lasers should be able to slow the enemy down. "Our weapons are useless! We must club them with our gun barrels!"
    300 Lycean troops: From Ostia and Pharae. Of doubtful loyalty, though their pikes and spears and swords might prove more useful than the lasers. "Cleanse the planet of evil"
    7000 Federation soldiers: About as powerful as Saddam Hussein's republican guards, though against the dumb dead, even they might be able to triumph. Actually not as pathetic as they seem in the Metroid games. They're only quasi-pathetic. "If enough of us fire enough times, we should have them licked."
    100 'Elite' Federation Soldiers: About as much use as the Special Republican Guard was in the first Gulf War. "Protect the general!"
    **The Forces of Darkness
    **
    Lord Keller: A vampire with the ability to summon purple fire and lightning and fling it from his hands. Hates Marth and Saria for a variety of good reasons. "You will die. And then, when you are dead, I will bring you back to life so as to be able to kill you again. And again. And then… then I will eat your wife and daughter. "
    Nosferatu: Scary bat monster. "I will tear you. Yes I will. Yes I will."
    Lilian: Sexy vampiress. Summons men and then kisses them on the neck. "Come to me, handsome. Come to death"
    Grim: Ancient general. "All attack! Kill in the name of Keller! Kill in the name of Ganon!"
    Tuthmoss: Cycloptic mummy. "As my lord wishes."
    50 Poe: Spirits with the ability to possess people, turning them against their friends for a short period of time. "Your time has come, mortals"
    4000 Stalfos knights: Ancient Hylian warriors. Invulnerable to most projectile weapons, though the heat of a laser blast does some damage. "Feel the chill of the grave"
    3000 Stalkids: Bizarre constructs. More of a nuisance than a threat, though they come in big numbers. "Ha Ha!"
    6 Stalfos club warriors: Big skeleton. Holding big bones. Spinning in a circle. "Spin spin spin! I _love_ my job!"
    Gibdos: Ikanan mummies. Those they kill get back up as redead. "The circle of life ends for you. Now, you enter the circle of death."
    Redead: Zombies. Immune to any normal missiles. Those they kill join them. Ice and fire beams are okay. Magic works a treat. "Itchy… itchy… _tasty_…_ eat_"
    Some of you might question the point of this. I did this because, sadly, I will be placing this story on hiatus for a few weeks as I go to Melbourne. Ciao! I can still be reached on e-mail, though.
    

I had my sister write this. Warning. Small children have been frightened by this songfic. Though whether it's the subject matter or the fact that she used a Backstreet Boys song is unknown.

__

Unbeknownst to Saria, unfriendly and hungry eyes are always watching her every move.

Keller: So… innocent. She doesn't know the danger that stalks her. 

Lilian: Sir, I think she is rather aware of the evil that stalks her. It's you.

.

Keller: Yes. But she believes she can win. She can't win, of course. I could kill her whenever I want.

Lilian: Than why don't you? 

Keller: The thrill of the hunt, of course.

Grim: Are you certain, sir? I would not presume to question you…

Keller: Then don't. 

Grim: I'm afraid I must. I think you pity her. You're sorry for her.

Keller: I most certainly do not. Does a wolf pity a doe it tears down? I had her in my grasp. I was about to kill her, but then…

Nosferatu: Tragedy struck.

Keller: Indeed it did, my bestial lieutenant. Tragedy struck in the form of a certain boy. A boy named Ness.

Lilian: Then why don't you strike now?

Keller: No. We will wait until they reach the Harvest Moon. There, we will reap our harvest. The fields will run red. Now go. I require my rest. Seek sustenance amongst the prisoners, and then you do the same. The sun almost rises.

__

The other vampires leave the room. Keller returns to observation of his prey… his prey.

Keller_ whispering_: Have I truly sunk so low? Am I that different from which I once was?

__

He sighs even deeper, and twirls his cape, spinning and shrinking into a keese, flying to the center of his castle, where he keeps his crypt. That would be something to ponder. The loneliness of command was nothing compared to the loneliness of being a vampire.

Keller's Song: Show me the meaning of being lonely

This is the meaning, of being lonely.

__

He flies over Lilian and Nosferatu, who are arguing about some prisoner or another. Keller considers joining them, but shakes it off, leaving himself alone with his thoughts.

So many words for the broken heart, it gets hard to think through the crimson blood, so hard to believe, walk with me to the past…

__

He sighs internally, remembering a man long lost. A man named Link.

Day's of light, that's what they were… wild and free I could feel the sun. Her every wish, I would soon have done… no more!

__

He thinks back to the days when he was a Hylian, when he was still alive. Everything Zelda wanted done, he had done. He had loved her with all of his heart. He had given his life to her. And now, his death was being used by another master.

This is the meaning, of being lonely. This is the feeling I have to cope with. I'm not the hero I used to be… there's something missing in my heart.

__

Look at him. A servant of his old enemy, Ganon. An undead monster, the type of thing mothers scared their children with. The type of thing he used to hunt. The crushing irony. And vampires don't die. He had all eternity to suffer in.

Life goes on, as if it never ends. Eyes afire, I hurt old friends. They're never safe, forever looking for me. A testament, to an ancient love. There is no control, and I'm a vampire now. My every wish, it can be done, except one!

__

He flew into the organ room. Perched above it, trapped in a red diamond, was the cause of all that had happened. She was to blame. She had led him on, encouraged his feelings! Using him, and tossing him aside. Zelda deserved what had happened. He wished he could see the expression on her face when she learned who he was…sadly, in order to protect her from being killed by the vengeful vampire, Ganon had sealed her in a one way, unbreakable magic container. He could see her, but she couldn't see him. The sight of her was both a torment and a comfort to him. He flew down a set of steps that lead to his crypt. 

This is the meaning, of being lonely. This is the feeling I have to cope with. I'm not the hero I used to be… there's something missing in my heart.

__

His thoughts turn to his new enemy, Marth. He swears that he will hunt that man down, and kill him. Or better still; turn him into a redead, so his soul would have to watch as his body hunted what he once cared for… just like Keller. Ah, Marth. His thoughts turn to their old friendship. He wondered if Marth was suffering. He hoped he was. Yet, Keller also felt some strange feelings. Sadness? He could have had another woman. Malon, Naburoo. They all had been anxious to wed him. He wondered what his life would be like now if he had picked one of them? He cleared his minds of such thoughts. He had made his decision.

Yes, you'd better run, you have no place to go. I've surrendered my heart, body and soul. How this can be me, I still don't believe, I guess I'll never know!

__

He could not dwell in the past. Ganon was his master now, his god. He would serve Ganon, and build a future in which all will suffer as he had. Thinking such pleasant thoughts, he turns back to his normal form and walks through the catacombs.

Life is missing in my heart!

__

He stops in front of one of the more recent tombs. That of King Harkinian. Several times now, he had considered bringing the old king back to life. And each time, he had decided against it. The time was not yet right. He chuckled, a dry raspy laugh. He wondered if Zelda or Marth knew it had been Lilian, acting on his orders, who had killed the old king. He continues, past Nosferatu's haunt. He stops and sniffs, searching for what smelled like raw flesh. He sighs. The ghoul just has no sense. He moves on, past Lilian's rather nicely decorated crypt. He smells blood coming from the room. Lilian always had been unable to resist drinking in bed. He walks on, past Tuthmoss's sarcophagus and Grim's den. He sniffs proprietarily. There was only one proper vampire in his entire cabal. Tuthmoss was a cycloptic mummy, and Grim was a revenant. As for Nosferatu… shaking his head at the relaxation of standards, he walks through his door. 

I am no longer that which I used to be…

__

He enters his personal crypt. Looking around at the assorted trophies and weapons hanging on the wall, he knows that while the means had shifted, the end remained the same. To be the best at his craft. He had been the greatest hero, and now as a villain, he would bring an age of darkness over the galaxy. He smiles briefly. He knew which job he preferred. Being a villain meant living forever. As a hero, his name would live forever. But, he would be unable to hear the stories told of him. As a villain, though, not only would he get to hear the stories written about him, but he would also be able to hear them, and to witness the fear on enemy's faces when they realized that the stories they had been told in childhood were all true. But… at what price? Was it worth it, losing his soul? He cleared his mind. While his body had died a week after that so called wedding, his soul had died on that day, so long ago, when his world had been destroyed by a treacherous friend. It wasn't his fault! He wasn't to blame. All of his victims could be lain at the feet of Marth. He was the true evil. Not Keller, no. It was Marth's fault. All Marth's fault. Not his. 

This is the meaning, of being lonely. This is the feeling I have to cope with. I'm not the hero I used to be… there's something missing in my heart.

__

He lies down in his coffin. What he has become is Marth's fault. Marth had killed Link. Ganon had just formalized it. It was all Marth's fault! Keller was just taking his revenge, yes… Marth, there will be a reckoning! He silently vowed to kill Marth, and bring him back as a ghoul. Yes… that would bring him pleasure 

This is the meaning, of being lonely. This is the feeling I have to cope with. I'm not the hero I used to be… there's something missing in my heart.

__

And as for Saria, first chance he got, he was going after her blood. Ganon had commanded, and he will obey. _That was all he knew how to do._


	13. Battle Royale

Sadly, an illness ended my sabbatical before I was ready to return. And returned I have, to a strange series of events that would make me laugh if it happened to anyone else. Ah, life can be strange sometimes.

I urge you all to ignore the author's note in the previous chapter. The situation has changed some what. You see, my sister is an avid fan of this story, and she stole the disk which I kept Chapter 34 and the epilogues on. So to spite her, I've made another last chapter. 2, in fact. The first keeps to the original's spirit fairly well, for those of you who stole my precious secrets from me, you horrid people. The second, which I consider to be the real ending, is chapter 35. And I give the people who have said secrets freedom to divulge them in a review. You see, I learned that the more reviews there are, the more people come to read the story (So long as my reviews aren't taken up with meaningless spamming, I encourage you all to review every chapter. Then more people will come, and I'll get more reviews, until I have become the most popular writer on the site! And then, I will sell my stories to a publisher, and become so rich, I have to hire people to carry my wallet!). And if you thieves thought Chapter 34 was good in concept (I didn't reveal it all, just crucial plot points, heh-heh), then Chapter 35 will blow you away! I will reveal nothing save this. Chapter 35 is called **Revelations**. 

Sadly, despite the fact that I have been a very good boy, and wished upon a star, and bargained with demonic powers, I still do not own Super Smash Brothers. I do own Keller, Lycis, Enris, Tuthmoss, Nosferatu, Lilian, and Grim. All other named characters belong to Nintendo.

****

Chapter 13: Battle Royale

_Part 25: Waltz of the Dead_

Sir Enris parried the blows expertly, slicing the Stalfos's leg off. Around him, more of his brother knights did their best to protect their king. The blades of the renegade Hylian Nobles and the magic of the Hylian Mages were also protecting Marth. Marth sighed. "Can I please have a weapon at least?" One of the nobles slapped himself.

"Of course! Give his majesty the sword." One of the other nobles pulled a familiar blade out of the air and tossed it to him. "Your majesty, this is the Master Sword. With it, you will be able to defeat any evil! I will explain more later." Marth waved it experimentally, and turned to face the incoming enemy. 

***

Ness and Saria were having a bit of trouble. For reasons known only to the vampire lord, they were being attacked by hundreds of Stalfos. Their psychic and magical resources running low, they had been separated from the main body of Hylians, and were now only accompanied by a few knights and mages. A massive force suddenly erupted behind the Stalfos, scattering them. Keller and Lillian were standing behind them, daggers drawn. "Saria, I have come for you! Lilian, get the boy! Once the girl is dead, the ceremony to free our master may begin." They ran forward, ignoring the magic attacks of the mages and destroying any knights foolish enough to stand in their way. 

"My lord, may I take him?" Keller nodded. Lilian threw her daggers at Ness. He gathered what little power he had left and tried to stop them. They screeched to a halt just inches from his face, and turned back at their owner. He had no time to celebrate as a clawed hand lifted him up. "Naughty boy. Did your mother never teach you it's rude to attack a lady?" 

"Who's a lady? The only lady I see is Saria." Lilian growled and tossed him into a wall, snarling. Meanwhile, Keller dispatched 3 of the Hylian knights with his own daggers and flames. Then he wheeled about to face Saria.

"It ends now, Saria. Twice before, we have met. Twice, you have escaped from me. You will not be so lucky this time. _Threanyo Srethila Klernchor Qetys!_" A massive burst of darkness shot from him, taking the form of a great bat. It slammed into her, knocking her into the wall behind her. Keller continued. "Why resist? Why fight me? I will end your pain." 

Saria weakly said, "I will never give in. You killed the Great Deku Tree." She raised the medallion that the Great Deku Tree had given her. "_Octehn Thanatyos Zenam Klengey!_" A green missile shot into Keller, hiding him behind a wall of green light. There was silence. Then a humming sound. The wall disappeared, as if being sucked away. Keller strode forward, swinging his blade in front of him. Saria cringed.

"Foolish girl. Do you truly think you can crush me with magic? I am the holder of _Yrenato Senfoun_. Your magic is nothing to me. I have complete control over this blade. I alone decide who feels its sting, and who does not. _You have no defense._" He thrust it into a Hylian Knight that had been charging at him. The knight exploded. As did every other knight behind him. "You die now, Saria."

"Nooooo!" Ness shouted, using all of his remaining power to send a wall of energy into Keller. Keller hardly turned. 

"Lilian, did I not ask you to destroy him? Please do so." Ness suddenly felt an extreme pain in his neck. He collapsed…

***

"I wonder if zombies feel pain." Mario remarked to Samus as he smacked another Redead's head off with his wrench. The pitiful thing continued attacking for a few seconds before collapsing into dust.

"I doubt it, Mario. Still, we should be considered lucky. We've only had to deal with the zombies and dog things. The big skeletons and those ghosts and mummies are busy elsewhere. And we haven't seen a single vampire this entire battle." Samus, Mario, Donkey Kong, Captain Falcon, 300 federation soldiers, Yoshi, Toad and Malon were under siege in a small collection of buildings near the rear of the fort. They had been almost overwhelmed until Donkey Kong had sorted out the zombies' attack pattern. It had been a tad too late for the commander of the federation troops, who had been killed by a zombie the first time, and just recently returned to his rest by Malon (who had pulled a spear out of thin air).

"As much as I hate to be the bearer of bad news, I believe the zombies are pulling back." Donkey Kong sounded concerned.

"How is that bad news, you big ape?" Captain Falcon asked.

"I hypothesize that they are not pulling back, but being called back. I believe that that means stronger soldiers are being sent in to destroy us."

"Nonsense. If that was the case, then we would hear something." Falcon's expression remained unchanged as Colonel Grim appeared, followed by 500 Stalfos Knights and 4 of the big club swingers. 15 Poe floated ominously overhead. "Never mind."

"You have fought as well as any warriors could. Surrender and your deaths will not only be quick and painless, but they will also be part of a new beginning for you." Grim proclaimed. "What do you have to lose?"

"Our souls! We will never surrender to you!" Malon shouted back.

"Very well. One way or another, in dying you will serve Lord Keller, and through him, Emperor Ganondorf." He and his forces attacked. 

***

"General Pepper, your orders?" Bill asked. Pepper blinked. He had no idea. He had just seen Phoenix get ripped to pieces by the creature known as Nosferatu. He could think of no way to save his forces. True, he could send for reinforcements from one of the other rebel compounds on the moon, but none were close enough to matter. 'General?" A squadron of Landmasters fired repeatedly at a mass of zombies, destroying most of the undead monsters before one of the club swingers spun into the squadron. 

"We have supremacy of the air, do we not?"

"Yes, General. Do you want me to try to get some Arwings into the air?" Pepper was about to respond when he saw a huge figure appear in the air. He moaned. There was no way a bat could get that large. The creature was followed by 3 more. They all circled over the citadel, allowing their cargo to jump off. Heavily armored figures jumped down, landing in a large crater. The Iron Knuckles had arrived. At the same time, a horde of Hylian Knights ran in from outside the compound walls. The two forces charged at each other, armor clanging, swords and axes colliding in a burst of sparks. Then, from within the compound, charged the Lycean troops. The Iron Knuckles had no chance of victory, but the soulless automatons were not going to surrender so easily. Before being dragged down, the 50 Iron Knuckles had cut down all but 100 of the 300 Hylian reinforcements, and almost wiped out the unprepared Lyceans. The survivors ran into the melee inside. "My god… how?"

Arwings suddenly shot out of the sky, coming from one of the other bases. They fired at the giant bats. General Pepper laughed. "Ha ha, my boy! One of the wizards must have sent news of our plight to the other bases! We're going to win!" The bats turned elegant cartwheels and then bolts of fire shot from their mouths, destroying the Arwings. "Uh oh." More bats, and hundreds of Arwings, swooped down out of the sky.

***

Within the compound, things were not going well. For either side. In a fierce battle, Marth and Lycis, hatred temporarily forgotten, had managed to link the Hylian and Lycean forces together to destroy Tuthmoss and the mummies, though at tremendous cost to the forces of light. No one knew what had happened to Tuthmoss, though Gooey looked a bit fatter than he had at the start of the conflict. Nosferatu had disengaged the undead under his command, fleeing back to Hyrule, but not before wiping out half of the normal federation troops, all of the elite federation troops, and half of the Lylatians. On the plus side, Saria and Ness had been saved, though it was doubtful whether or not Ness would survive, and the few surviving wizards were too busy to expend magic to save him.

"Marth. I knew we would meet." Keller had lost his mask and now he glared at Marth, sword drawn.

"Keller. Why are you here? What happened to you? Have you forgotten what we once were?"

"Silence, Marth. The man you knew as Link is dead. Has been dead for 5 years. I serve a new master, now. As to why I am here… I am here for Saria. And if you defeat me here, then I will return again. I will kill Saria. My master needs her dead." Saria gasped. _All this… was to kill me? _

"I can not allow that, Keller." Marth drew the Master Sword.

"Then you will die. And die horribly, I assure you. You will die in the certain knowledge that your death will mean that you will serve me, and your family will suffer."

"For those I love, I can't lose!" They charged at each other. Sword rang against sword. Hatred was gone in both of them, replaced by respect. "I hold the Master Sword, the blade of evil's bane. You can't win!"

"You will require more than that to defeat me." Around them, a vicious battle ran. More Iron Knuckles began dropping through the ceiling, as more rebel troops ran through the door. Lilian reappeared, leading more undead. Yet the two warriors fought in an empty circle, parrying and thrusting, neither one gaining the upper hand for more than a few seconds. All it required was a single thing, and one of them would kill the other. Good old Dame fortune, you can always count on her. 

A mage gathered magical energy to him, in an attempt to destroy the Stalfos attacking a battalion. He shot it in a missile, but it missed, and by a million to one chance, slammed into Keller's side. Keller was shaken for a few seconds. Marth stabbed the vampire lord right in the heart. He could feel the Master Sword feeding on Keller's evil. "It's over, Keller."

"It's never over for us. You defeated me now. But, I will return…" Keller exploded in a burst of darkness, an almost grateful expression on his face. Around him, the undead disappeared. Marth sheathed his sword, and was about to see to Ness when he felt a burst of heat in his side. As he fell, he saw Lycis standing over him holding a bloody dagger. 

"Lycis… why?" Lycis didn't answer. Said nothing as Hylian Knights grabbed him, as mages froze him in a burst of ice. The world grew dark around Marth.

__

Part 26: Running Away.

Saria looked around carefully. She wanted to be sure no one knew where she would be. _I have to get away. These people all almost died because of me. I must flee._ She opened the door and stepped outside. _If I move fast enough, I will reach some where safe. No one else need die because of who I am. _She was distracted by the sound of some one moving behind her. "Who's there?"

"Easy, Saria." Ness walked outside. "Did you honestly think you could leave without someone noticing?" He held a hand to his neck. While the wounds had been healed, he could still almost feel the bite of Lilian.

"Go away, Ness. I need to go somewhere where no one can reach me, and where if Keller does come again, as he said, I would be the only one killed. I'm leaving."

"And I'm going with you."

"No, you're not. I can't allow it."

"Damn it, Saria, I love you too much to allow you to just leave, and go somewhere with out protection."

"And I love you to much to put you at risk by allowing you to come with me."

"Yes, but you can't stop me from coming, can you? I'm stronger." To demonstrate, he picked her up. "Now, which direction are we going?"

"East. But you're not coming with me!"

"That's nice." He started to the east, Saria still in his arms.

"Put me down!"

Ah, young love. How sweet. Well, that's all from me. Good day to you all.


	14. We all must answer to someone

The master sword was removed by the Hylians… or was it? Are there more then one of the blades of evil's bane? Looks like both forces were heavily damaged in the battle. Thanks, Dark Magnus, for your help on this chapter. Credit where credits due, folks. With out him, we wouldn't have this chapter. 

I own nothing. Nothing! (Except for Keller, Lycis, Enris, Nosferatu, Lilian, and Grim. I also owned Tuthmoss, but he was eaten) And we will see Roy again very soon, I promise. Would I lie to you?

****

Chapter 14: We All Answer To Someone

Part 25: A New Friend

Marth opened his eyes. He was lying on what felt like a soft bed. He felt his side. Not a scratch. All of a sudden his friends ran in, babbling. 

"Marth! You're alive!" Samus said. Around her, the others all smiled. He looked around. 

"Where are Saria and Ness?" He asked. "Or Gooey and Mario? And what happened to DK?"

Samus looked concerned. "We don't know what happened to Saria and Ness. They disappeared last night. Gooey… we think he might have eaten something that disagreed with him."

"You mean that mummy?"

"Yeah. Mario is lying up in another room. That Col. Grim guy gave him a nasty wallop. DK is checking with the other apes."

Marth blinked. He had just remembered what had put him here. "Where's Lycis?" He growled. Samus looked at him carefully.

"Your loyal subjects are preparing to burn him as an evil son of a bitch." Marth blinked.

"I'm not in the mood for sarcasm. Where's Lycis?"

"About to be set on fire in the front courtyard. The Hylian wizards are all busy gathering sticks, though I think they're done."

"You were serious?" At Samus's nod, Marth got up and ran so fast there was a small thunderclap.

***

The nobles of Hylia stood in front of the massive pile of wood they had built in the courtyard. They talked quietly amongst themselves as Enris adjusted his judge's wig. Around him, Wizards flew around, piling more sticks onto the pile. When all was in readiness, a few knights prodded Lycis forward. Enris cleared his throat. "Are you Lycis von Alric?" He asked. Behind him, the Altean exiles who had fled here from the Ostian league's defeat were under careful guard.

"Yes I am. And why bother with this mockery? You're going to find me guilty no matter what I say." Lycis said, resignedly. "Even if I tell you that because of Marth, my family was killed. My wife, my children, dead. My nation almost obliterated. Because of that man you call king."

Enris sniffed haughtily. As far as he was concerned, dying for your country was the best way to die. "That confession should speed things along." The nobles all nodded. "Very well. I, Sir Enris Yvresse, sentence you to be burned to death. If there are any who object to this sentence, step forward." The other Hylian knights provided the subtext 'and be hacked to pieces'. "Do you have any last requests, scum?"

"I wish to be buried near my wife, back in Altea."

"Very well. Prepare the fire."

Marth had watched, horrified, as Enris ignored what Lycis said in his defense. Now he could take no more. He strode forward, jaw thrust out, Master Sword in his hand. "Stop this travesty! There will be no execution here!" Rather than celebrating, Lycis screamed.

"No! Please! I want to die! Please!" He threw himself onto the floor. "Please, send me to see my family! Don't leave me in this empty existence! I beg you!" He broke down into tears. "Please, kill me! Let my pain end!" Still crying, he lunged at one of the torch bearers, grabbing the torch. He ran to the pyre. Marth saw in horrible clarity just what Lycis planned.

"Stop him!" Several Hylian knights grabbed him, knocking the torch from his hands. "Bring him to me." They complied, throwing the pathetic man onto the ground. Lycis groveled. "Oh, stop that."

"Your majesty, he is a danger to you. We must kill him."

"Right now, he is a danger to no one but himself." Bending down, he looked into Lycis's eyes. There was no anger, no hatred. Only a terrible pain, so vast that it frightened Marth. Marth nodded. He had already lost one friend to such pain. He was damned if he was going to lose Lycis to it. "Lycis, I should have you killed. You are an attempted assassin."

"I'm no assassin. I'm a failed hero." Lycis whispered. Gaining strength, he stared at Marth. "You can't know what it was like in Altea. Indeed, still is like. Safe among the Hylians, you forgot us. I thought that if you died, the suffering of your people would end. You are our king! You should be helping us! With the Hylians, you could help us. Yet you do nothing."

Every word stabbed at Marth as sharply as Lycis's dagger had. "I'm no king. The Hylians call me such only because I married Zelda. I don't deserve to help you. I don't deserve any of what happened." Marth broke down. "I failed you all. I lost both of my kingdoms. Once because I left an enemy behind, and twice because I angered a friend. I'm no leader."

Lycis smiled sadly. "Yet you are our king." Standing up, he gestured at the surrounding Hylians, and at the other Alteans. "You are the only one we have, and we will follow you." Putting his hand on the younger man's shoulder, he sighed. "You are our king, and both your kingdoms need you."

Marth nodded sadly. 

Part 26: Punishment

Keller kneeled before Ganon. He was a trifle alarmed. The summons had been very fast, barely giving him enough time to restore his form. He shuddered. Being stabbed by the master sword was one experience he never wanted to repeat. He looked around. Ganon's other lieutenants stood behind him, also wondering why they had been called. Ganon spoke. "**You failed me, Keller."**

"Great Lord, I did no such thing. Victory was with in my grasp, I had the rebels on their knees, and…" Keller babbled, scared.

**"Silence! What care I for rebels? I sent you to kill Saria, yet you, in your arrogance, thought that I would care about some small army?** ** I sent you for one purpose, and one purpose alone. And you failed me. Failure should be punished, should it not?"** Keller nodded, mutely. The other lieutenants all swallowed. Keller was going to be an example. Keller tried one last time to save himself.

"Great Lord, please! Let me explai- AUGH!" Keller was wracked with convulsions. Purple and black bolts of electricity skidded across him. He screamed, agonizingly. Ganondorf smiled. The pain ended. Keller looked up, :Great Lord, I beg" Ganondorf raised his hand. On it, the Triforce of Power glowed, followed by the Triforce of Courage. "Great Lord, no!" Massive jolts shuddered through Keller. He screamed again, curling up as waves of pain entered his body. The jolts disappeared. Keller tried to speak again, but then came the flames…

***

Hours of excruciating pain later, Keller was allowed to return to his castle. Massive scars lay etched along his body. Huge burns covered his exposed areas. His eyes were a faded red, as if they had been stripped of all vitality. His wings (Yes, his cape is really 2 wings) had been reduced to shreds, his right arm hung uselessly at his side. Lilian came running to him. "Are you alright, master?" Keller glared at her. He raised his hand, took all of his anger and pain, and channeled it at her. While he was no Ganondorf, he was still powerful enough to reduce her to ashes, which quickly moved away from him. Lilian obviously thought it best to stay far away from her furious master. 

Keller looked out at the night sky. "This is two I owe you, Marth." The stars had no response. Somewhere out there, though, was the Harvest Moon. And somewhere on that moon was Saria. "Saria, I swear in Ganon's name, I will see you dead." He turned. In order to regain his strength, he would have to feed. And he had the perfect meal. A certain red headed young man.

Next chapter, Saria and Ness meet with someone… unexpected, to say the least. And the return of Roy! YAY! Not that he'll reach the Harvest Moon, yet. First he has to meet everyone's favorite 2 dimensional character.


	15. A price worth paying?

Happy Birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday to Slywolf, happy birthday to me! ^_^

Well, well, well. Almost 5 months since I started this story. I never thought this would be anywhere near as long as it is, nor as popular. This chapter might seem a tad tedious to a few of you, but you'll like it anyway. Dark, you might as well skip this chapter, or at least the first part. It's all your idea. Thanks again! All credit for this goes to him… Sadly, I had to move Roy's escape one chapter forward. The reasons for this will become clear shortly, but basically boil down to, 'Because I could'. ; )

I own only Keller, Lycis, Enris, etc. You all know the drill. I repeat, this is only a drill!

****

Chapter 15: A price worth paying?

__

Part 29: Hope

"Ness, here's as good a spot as any to stop." Saria sighed, resigned. She was worried. The sun, such as it was, was sinking below the horizon, and night had fallen on the Harvest Moon, i.e. Oren was also sinking below the horizon. She looked around. 

"Right, Saria." He sat down and pulled a military sleeping bag from a copiously large pocket. She stared open mouthed. He flushed. "Well, we need it."

"You stole that!"

"No I didn't! I… liberated it!"

"Ness, I am shocked and appalled."

"Fine. Be cold." 

"Why only one?"

"Well, I will be standing watch. I figured we only need one." 

Saria leaned over and kissed him. "That's sweet, Ness. But I'll stand first watch."

"But… it's not safe!"

"And you think it's safe for you? By now, I'm sure Keller will know I've run away, and I'm sure he'll do anything in his power to kill me now." The matter-of-fact tone sent a chill down Ness's side. Waving her hand, she produced a loaf of bread and some butter. They ate in silence.

***

After Ness had fallen asleep, Saria was alone with her thoughts. Images of Keller's mask appeared before her, laughing as he removed it, revealing Link's face, all twisted and evil. His illusionary face seemed to say, "Lord Ganon needs you dead, 'little sister.' AndI_ want _you dead." The image became that of all those dead warriors and soldiers. Yet she could still hear Keller saying, "How many more? How many more must die before you stop running, Saria? How many more must you make me kill? _When will you let me kill you?_" The dead stared at her with blank, accusing eyes. Saria broke down and began to weep uncontrollably. 

She had sat there, sobbing, for hours before hearing a branch snap. Turning around, she fired a magical bolt in the direction the sound had come from. She heard a laugh. Her heart caught in her mouth. "Saria, is that anyway to treat an old friend?"

"Rauru?" She asked timidly. "Is that you?"

"Of course it's me! Did you really think that a vampire like Keller could kill the Sage of Light?" The old man eased himself onto a nearby tree stump. "Though, you seem different… what happened?" Starting to weep once more, Saria told him everything.

"And now he says that because the other sages are all dead, he has to kill me." A hopeful expression appeared on her face. "But, you are still alive! So I'm sure that the universe is all right… what?"

"Ah, Link has changed… no, Saria. If he was to come after me again, I would be killed. I only narrowly escaped this time. No, Saria, it is up to you."

"Oh, if only there was someplace to go where he could never reach, somewhere safe to hide forever. If Keller can't get to me, then he will have no reason to kill anymore people to get me. If only…" Saria sighed. Rauru coughed.

"Saria, there is such a place."

"There is? How do I get there?"

"By magic. My magic can send you to a place where you will be perfectly safe, for all eternity, for you will be immortal. There is a caveat, though."

"What?"  


"Once there, you can never leave. You will be all alone, forever."

Saria thought about it. It seemed a horrible fate. "Is there no alternative?"

"There are several. But none of them foolproof. The enemy grows stronger by the minute. Keller is even now searching for you. He will not make the same mistake twice." He nodded towards the slumbering Ness. "He will almost certainly kill the boy either way. But if you remain here, then this boy will suffer for all eternity as a ghoul. If you are not, then Keller might be merciful." Rauru looked sad. "Saria, I know I am asking for a lot from you, but it is for the best."

Saria thought of the horror of undeath. She would not, could not, allow Ness to meet the same fate as those redead, and nor could she allow more to die to protect her. "I accept. How do I go there?"

Rauru uttered the words of a spell. Almost immediately, Saria slipped into unconsciousness.

__

Part 30: Love 

Ness woke up, and almost instantly knew something was wrong. Saria's mind was fading. Jumping out of the sleeping bag, he ran to where he felt Saria. The closer he got, the stranger the feeling became. Eventually, he could discern eldritch and terrible words, which seemed to resonate beyond hearing. "**_Moritus… Sarum… Tretys! Nil Liinos!_"** He picked up his pace, running until he burst into a clearing. What he saw there frightened him beyond belief. Saria was lying on a stone table, her skin growing paler by the second. Standing over her was an aged Hylian dressed in a red mantle. From his fingers, bursts of darkness zapped out and encircled the young woman. 

Thinking quickly, Ness levitated a rock and 'threw' it into the man's back. He jumped and turned, facing Ness. "Foolish boy, daring to interfere!" Behind him, Saria pulled herself up.

"You're not Rauru! He would never say that! Who are you?" The man paused, and began to laugh. Black smoke billowed out around him. Someone else walked out, someone clad in a simple, gray robe with the cowl pulled up so that the only part of his face visible was his smirking mouth.

"I, am Aghanim! Master of magic!" He sent a massive shock wave out at Ness. Ness stumbled onto the ground, gasping. "Emperor Ganon wants you dead."

"I thought Keller was on our case?" Saria coughed out.

"Keller has fallen out of Ganon's favor." Aghanim said mockingly. "The foolish vampire." He sent a fireball into Ness, severely scorching him. Ness countered with PK Flash, but Aghanim was untouched. "You'll have to do better than that, boy." Ness was flung into a tree. Struggle as he might, Ness couldn't move. "Why don't you watch? This should only take a few minutes." He turned back to Saria and began sending dark energy back at her…

***

For weeks afterwards, one of the biggest arguments between Ness and Saria was how he had done what he had. When all hope had seemed lost, Ness had somehow broken from his imprisonment, summoned up more power than he knew he had, and blasted Aghanim. The dark wizard had melted away under the onslaught.

***

But immediately afterwards, Ness's primary concern was Saria. Running to her side, he shook her. "Saria! Wake up!" The young elf didn't move. Lifting her up, he noticed how cold Saria was. He had to get her back to camp.

Aghanim appeared inside a small tower room. He looked around. "Strange. I hadn't planned to come here." He noticed the symbol on the wall, a red bat within the Triforce. "That's Keller's symbol! What am I doing here?"

"You are here, because I want to have a couple of words with you about demarcation." Keller walked in, sword in hand. An audible 'whum' was heard. The vampire smiled.

Well, well, well. Shadow Link, Veran, Aghanim, Onyx, Majora, and Ganon. The bad guys of the LOZ series. Somehow, though, I just can't help but think I'm forgetting someone… If anyone knows who it is that I have forgotten, send it to the usual place. Damn it, who! I'm going to spend ages thinking about that! … Anyway, next chapter, you know you've been waiting for this, well here it is, the Return of Roy!


	16. Freedom, Part one

Apologies for lateness!

**Chapter 16: Freedom, Part 1**

_Part 31: The rebellion_

                The two Stalfos looked at each other over the table. Eye sockets narrowed, hands on sword hilts. "That was never an ace! I think you're cheating, friend."

                "You call me friend, and here you are impugning my honour? I assure you, if anyone was cheating, it's you." They charged at each other, slashing and hacking. A burst of flame envelopes them.

                "Whew, if only all the guards were so stupid." 3 cloaked figures walked in. "Where's Roy again?" The one on the left drew out a note and passed it to the speaker. "Help me. I'm being held hostage by Keller. I am in the tower dungeon. Help."

                "You don't think this could be a trap, do you?" They look at each-other and shake their heads. Then they charge up the stairs. Around them, noises came. People screaming in pain, agony, the usual accompaniments to a dungeon. "That loud screaming is starting to get on my nerves."

                "Quiet. Now, if my theory is correct, then Roy should be… in here!" They open a door. Several surprised Wizrobes look at them. The Hylians look back. No-one moved for a long time. "Um… sorry to have bothered you, we'll just be leaving." The birds kept staring as the three warriors backed out of the room and closed the door.

                "That was odd. Why didn't they move?" One of them asked his companions. They all shrugged.

                *              *              *

Finally, after hours of searching… 

"Finally. We've found his room. No thanks to you two." The commander snorted. She opened the door. "Roy, we are here… oh my lord."

_Part 32: With allies like this…_

                Roy looked up. "I do wish you hadn't come." He said. His voice was drawn, broken with frequent gasps. He looked up at them. Two bright red marks were on his neck.

                "What do you mean, 'you wish we hadn't come?'" The three freedom fighters looked around anxiously. "You sent a message, from a secure fortress full of hundreds of guards and owned by a psychopathic vampire, to come and-ah." She swore under her breath. "We were allowed to get up here, weren't we? Those creatures didn't attack because… once we got up here we were trapped. There's only one way down…" She looked around, hoping to see a secret passage. Her two comrades looked frightened beyond imagine. "Don't worry!" She snapped at them. "We're going to be all right." _I hope_.

                "Oh, really? I beg to differ, girl." A voice came from the door. Keller swept in. "Ordinarily, I would have my guards kill you, but I'm bored, and I…_hunger_." His cape billowed behind him, though there was no wind. He seemed to be a nexus of unimaginable dark power.

                "Stay back! I'm a mage! I'll summon a, a, a demon!" One of the men said. "Yeah, that's right. If you don't let us go right now, I'll summon a demon!"

                This did not have the desired effect. Rather than fleeing in terror, Keller seemed interested. "You will? Oh, please do so! Right away, if you please."

                "Um…"

                "If you don't, I'll eat you." Keller sat down on the bed. "I don't think I've ever seen a demon summoned by a good guy before." He coughed and made his voice sound like a little child's. "Oh, summon a demon, daddy! Please do!"

                The man spluttered. Then he shrugged. "I… um… command a demon to come forward! Avaunt! By the power of… um, Mr. Keller? Can I borrow a weapon or something?"

                "By all means, my dear lad." Keller passed one of his daggers to the 'wizard'.

                "Right. By the power of this evil blade, I command you to show yourself! AVAUNT!" There was a flash of smoke, and a noise a great deal like the sound made when a wooden ruler is struck against a metal desk very hard. 

                "BEEP!" a sound came from the central portion of the room. The three Hylians looked there, but they couldn't see anything. Keller, on the other hand, was laughing his heart out.

                "That's your demon, is it?" He asked, amused. Roy buried his face in his hands.

Remainder of chapter will be up shortly 


	17. Freedom, Part two

**Chapter 17: Freedom, Part 2**

_Part 33: An unexpected occurrence_

                "That's your demon, is it?" Keller laughed. His eyes twinkled with amusement beneath his helmet. "Oh, I'm so scared." He stood up and his hands started to glow once more. "And now, my friends, you die." 

                Mr. Game&Watch looked around, angrily. He had been enjoying a nice picnic, and then all of a sudden he had been taken here. And everything looked _wrong_. And he saw the man which he felt was responsible. "BEEP!"

                Keller, of course, first learnt of this when his cape was set on fire by a flaming sausage. "What? No!"  The fire began to spread rapidly, consuming his dried skin. "Gah!" He faded out of view. Roy looked around, shocked. "Is… that it?"

                "Come on, Roy!" The woman said, pulling at his arm. "He'll be back! And we still have to deal with his minions!" She grabbed him and forced him to come with her. Around them, the tower began to shake.

                As they fled, they eventually reached a large, shadowy room, in which an organ sat. And floating above the organ was… Roy stopped. "Zelda!" The rebels paused and looked up. "It's Zelda! Quickly, we have to get her down from there!"

                Zelda's voice could be heard. "Roy? Thank the Goddesses! Where's Marth? Is he with you?" Her eyes widened. "Behind you!" 

                Roy turned. A female vampire was standing there, her lips curled in anticipation. Behind her stood several Stalfos. "Prepare to die, Red." She launched at him, fangs bared. Roy stumbled backwards. "Kid, help me out!" He shouted to the mage. Lilian grabbed for Roy's throat, but he managed to move her aside. 

                The boy waved his hand randomly. "Um… let there be light?" The room brightened a fraction. "It worked! LET THERE BE LIGHT!" The room brightened tremendously. Lilian shrank backwards. And the crystal holding Zelda shattered. She fell downwards, landing in the girl's hands. 

                Lilian snarled. "Lord Keller isn't going to like this…" Then Zelda regained her bearings. And all hell really did let loose.

_Part 34: A coward dies a thousand deaths… but at least he's around to do so._

                Roy sat back and watched as Zelda took four weeks of pent up aggression out on Lilian. "And this is for being an evil vampire! And this is for taking my country! And this is for taking my baby!" Roy stood up, and gently pulled Zelda away from the rapidly dissipating pile of dust. 

                "Zelda, Marth would want to see you," he said, gently. "We really should find a way to the Harvest Moon." Zelda sits down.

                "Where is Aryll?" She moans. "Have you seen her? That bastard Keller took her from me!"

                Roy opens his mouth. "About Keller…" He begins, "Keller used to be someone we both knew quite well."

                "What? Who?" Zelda says, looking up.

                "Link." At Roy's words, Zelda and the other Hylians stared slackjawed. Zelda shook her head.

                "I thought… during one of my fevers… that I saw him… but…" Zelda started to weep. "I don't believe you!" She slapped him.

                There was a rushing wind. Roy looked around and rubbed his cheek. "Come on! There must be a way out of this castle!" He said, looking around. "That way!" He led them towards a flight of stairs. "Zelda, can you find some sort of teleporting thingie?"

                Zelda concentrated. "Um, over there somewhere." She pointed down the stairs. The six heroes rushed down the stairs.

***

                As they ran, a dark cloud seemed to gather in the uppermost sections of the tower. Red glowing eyes watched them. "So, they aim to escape? I think not." The ground began to shake. Zelda screamed.

                "Roy! Do something!" 

                "Um…" He picked her and G&W up, and ran like hell. The other Hylians followed. Soon they reached the end of the corridor. And there is where they met…

                "So, Roy. At last we meet. For the first time, for the last time. Only this time, you die…" Grim stepped out of the shadows. His lips curled, revealing his fangs. "Prepare to die… hey! Where are you going?" He asked as another tremor caused him to collapse, allowing them to run past him. 

                "Zelda, in 5 seconds there will be a very angry vampire following us. You better be right about that teleporter!" Roy hissed. Zelda snorted. "It's right there, Roy." She pointed at a large, glowing device. Behind them, a loud roar could be heard. They found a sudden burst of speed, and leapt inside, not caring for where the location was set for…

Okay. Apologies. Now that school is out, I will be able to get a few more chapters up. By the way, the next chapter will be completely unexpected…


	18. Power of the Unknown

*Pokemon theme tune starts to play*

Slywolf: Damn… do I have to?

Boss: Yeah.

Slywolf: But they're so… cute.

Boss: It's an SSBM fic. 

Slywolf: Fine, fine…

Boss: But first, I think our readers deserve an apology, both for the brevity of this chapter *and* for the lateness of the update. Oh, and your new name?

LOW: Yes. Well, late last year, I went on a world tour. Sadly, there was a slight problem with changing my settings, and I left you all hanging. The new name is a bit of an affectation, and is used primarily to differentiate me from a certain original character which will be showing up frequently. Besides, last I checked, Lord of Darkness was taken. Pity, that. One more tiny word from our continuity editor:

Lord Keller: Who, me?

LOW: No, the gremlin behind you. Of course you.

Keller: Human. Anyway, we are aware that in the current Pokemon series has neither Misty or Brock.  Thus, we solve this problem quite simply by ignoring the new series. For reasons that can be best described as… arbitrary and pointless. However, it seems our good friend the Lord of Woe had a spot of fondness for the old series, and isn't listening to my pointing out that the game has none of them in the way the show does, and thus he's rapidly turning this into a TV show fan-fic, which isn't right, and

*SMACK*

LOW: Well, that put an end to that. As usual, I don't own… pretty much anything here. 

**Chapter 18: Power of the Unknown**

_Part 35: Life, the universe, and everything_

                A dark figure walked through the ancient tomb. It turned, and looked behind it, at a small group of other figures. It spoke, in what's best described as a screech. "Here you are Giovanni… power beyond your wildest dreams… and all you had to do was agree to serve my master."

                The red suited man rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes. Activate it. And give me the key…" Giovanni sighed. He had no idea why he was here with this lunatic. She had arrived, speaking of a dark empire from beyond the sky and an evil lord who wished for his service. While quite obviously a madwoman, the slim chance that she might be telling the truth was enough to grab his attention.

                Veran  busied herself around the room, prying at various objects. The ground started to rumble, and the other three figures in the room looked around, worried.

                "Jessie, are you sure that we should have come?"

                "Quiet, James! The boss said he wanted us here."

                "Yeah, but you remember what happened in that mansion… I've been put off of legendary Pokemon." James started to sweat, nervously. "And that green thing… every time we get *near it…*

                "Both of you idiots shut up!" Meowth snorted. "It's perfectly fine, she won't be able to open the…" he was speechless, for once in his life. 

                A glow emanated from the walls of the crypt, and in the middle of the room a portal opens. Hundreds of black shapes, letters by the look of them. Jessie, James, and Meowth all thought at once, 'Not again!' There was a blast, and…

_Part 35: Gotta catch 'em all!_

                When we last  left our heroes, they were wandering aimlessly around Route 1. "Why don't you just admit we're lost, Misty?" Ash said, irritably.

                Misty turned around and glared. "We're not lost! I could never get lost here… but sometimes the road gets lost." She turned to Brock. "Besides, he's the one who is reading the map." She smiled at Ash, slightly mischievously. He laughed as she turned around, and pulled the map from Brock's hands. "Look, he's been holding this upside down!"

                Brock blushed, and looked embarrassed. "I… uh… well, would you believe it was an honest mistake?" He coughed, embarrassed. "I mean, getting lost on route one… that's got to be the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to me…"

                Pikachu poked its head out of Ash's backpack. "Pika pika…" it shook its head, and then returned to the backpack. Ash shook his head. "That's not very polite, Pikachu. It's not Brock's fault he can't figure out the easiest route on the planet."

                Brock blushed again. "Well… it looks different than the map… look out!" He tackled Ash and threw him to the ground, as a grenade exploded behind him.

                Two shadowy figures appeared on top of a rise. "To protect the world from devestation," one of them said, saluting the trio. The male voice responded, "to unite the people in every nation." They continued in such manner, saying, "to denounce the evils of truth and love…"

                Ash interrupted them. "Team rocket, what were you trying to do, kill us?" He said, angrily. Brock nodded.

                "That was a grenade!"

                Jessie and James looked at each other, and then turned around. "Meowth? Why did we have a grenade? Sorry, twerps. Technical difficulties." They stepped back behind the rise, and the sound of a loud discussion soon rose over the small hill.

                Ash and Brock glanced at each other, wondering what was going on. Misty, however, ran over, and looked at Ash, concerned. "Ash, are you okay?" She asked, gently. 

                Ash looked up at her. "Yeah, I'm fine, Misty…" She helped him to his feet as Team Rocket walked over the hill.

                James shook his head. "It seems that we had received… um… the wrong shipment… looks like we got the box for the soldiers that were going after Viridian and Pallet…" Meowth leapt up and scratched his face. "Shut up!"

                "You idiot! You just told them everything!" Jessie kicked James as well, and then turned to Misty, Ash and Brock. "Disregard that…" she pulled a machine gun out from behind her. "Now, please, come with us to Pallet town, twerps." 

                Brock looked at the gun. "Where did you get that from?" He asked. "I mean, where do you keep these things?"

                Jessie laughed, and said, "Mail order. You can get anything from there."

*                              *                              *

                As the trio were marched back to Veridian City, Ash looked at James curiously. "Just out of curiosity, why do you have the gun? I mean, you may have been thieves and cartoonish villains, but until now you've never stooped to pure evil." 

                James looked around, in case someone was listening. Then he leaned in and whispered, "Well… to tell the truth, we're not sure… it's something to do with that Veran the boss has around…"

                Jessie glanced back. "James, no fraternising!"

*              *              *

                Giovanni was waiting to greet them at the entrance to the gym. "Well, well… Ash Ketchum… it's been a while…" He snapped his fingers. "Team Rocket, take them inside. Our benefactors want that Pikachu."

                The heroes tried to struggle, but when the team rocket grunts displayed weapons, they gave in, grimly. Brock spat. "I'll get you removed from the Pokemon League for this, Giovanni!"               

                Giovanni threw back his head and laughed. "Please… you think I'm concerned over that? I have this entire world to play with! All hail Lord Ganon!"

                Pikachu's head suddenly popped out of the backpack. "Pika? PIKA!" It shouted, as Giovanni suddenly grabbed it. It shot electricity out, but the man just shook his head, and smiled. "Please, my friend. I'm all ready for that… rubber gloves, you see?" Ash lunged at Giovanni, but he was suddenly smacked around the back of the head by one of the grunts. "Tsk, tsk, Ash… take them away! Put them in the cells!"

*              *              *

                When Ash woke up, he could see Misty staring down at him. "Uh? Where… are we…" he remembered what had happened. "Pikachu!" He shot up, and fell back as he felt an explosion of pain. Misty gasped.

                "Ash, please, just rest… Brock, help him up…" Once he was sitting, they leaned him against a wall. "Ash, they took Pikachu somewhere… I'm not sure what's going on…"

                Ash looked shocked. "What's going on…?" He looked up as there was a jingling sound at the cell door. Jessie, James, and Meowth stood there, holding the keys. "You…"

                Meowth coughed. "We've… been thinking about what you said… and you're right. We've never actually done anything all that bad… and we're not going to start." James unlocked the cell door.

                "It's that Veran woman… she wanted us to find Pikachu, and a Jigglypuff, and a Pichu for some reason… she has the boss under a magic spell!" 

                Jessie slapped him. "There's no such thing as magic, James. Now, you twerps getting out of there? Or are we leaving you?"

                Ash blinked. "Why are you helping us?"

                Team Rocket blinked. "Well… we're not sure ourselves. But there are some things we… look, you'll understand when you're older." 

CLIFFY! Yep. I've decided to return to my soap-opera-ish habit of cliff-hangers. Because I'm active once more, you won't suffer with this one for long. Now, review!


	19. The Lizard of Oz

_**No characters mentioned here are the property of Slywolf. As a further note, at no time is any disrespect meant to L. Frank Baum or his work. One of my greatest childhood memories is reading the Wizard of Oz and its sequels, and while calling it a tribute is probably going too far...**_

_**I am deeply, deeply sorry for anyone who may be offended by the following chapter. **_

_**Thank you for your forbearance, and on with the show.**_

**Chapter 19: The Lizard of Oz**

_Part 37: Follow the pastel road!_

Falcon rubbed his eyes, tired. Then he leaned forward, and tried again. "Gooey. If I put these beans on the table," he put three beans on the table, "how many beans are there?"

The brightly coloured blob rolled on its side for a second, and then its tongue shot out, eating the beans. Falcon stared at Gooey for a second, and then buried his face in his hands. 'Why? Why me! Dear God, was I a serial killer in a past life?'

Mario's voice crackled from the loudspeaker. "Captain Falcon, sir! Planetoid in sight! It appears to be in the shape... of a giant banana."

Falcon sighed again. 'I hate this universe...' Snatching up the speaker, he sent a message back. "Bring us down near a village in the outskirts!"

* * *

Wario picked up the little Noki, shaking him. "Hand over all your lunch money, creep!" The yellow plumber giggled a bit, and then threw the shellfish man into a wall. The Noki curled up into his shell, shuddering. Wario growled. "Now!"

"Yes, oh wicked twit of the east..." the Noki ran for his house.

Wario leapt onto a statue of himself, and raised his hands into the air. "I AM YOUR GOD! I AM YOUR MASTER! ALL HAIL ME, THE WICKED TWIT OF THE... _splat!" _Where Wario and statue had once been, there was now a large spaceship.

The nokis all gathered around, watching as a ramp extended from the rear, and some figures walked, waddled, and rolled from the starship. The man in the helmet raised his hand. "We come in peace!"

"They've killed the twit!"

Mario blinked. "The who?"

"The wicked twit of the east! You landed your house on top of him!"

Mario looked underneath the ramp. Wario had been squashed, and all that pointed out were his feet. "Ich..."

Falcon was holding his hands up. "Now, hold on... we didn't kill anyone..." He wiped his brow. "Now, we're looking for rocket fuel... Mario? What are you looking at?"

"He's... he's definitely dead..." Mario almost threw up. "Living people are generally 3-dimensional." The plumber pulled off his late counterpart's clown shoes. "Reckon they'd fit?"

Falcon felt his blood pressure rise. "What the hell are you doing?" He held up his hand. "Never mind... I'm sure I don't want to know." He turned to the Noki who appeared to be in charge. "So, any of you walking sea-shells know where we can get starship fuel?"

They all shook their heads. One old man raised a hand, though. "You might visit the Lizard! He knows all!"

The long-suffering starship captain rubbed his eyes. "The... lizard?" He asked, wondering if this was all some strange dream. 'If so, that's the last time I have a maxim tomato on an empty stomach.' Deciding to go with considering this to be reality, he nodded. "Okay, where do we find this lizard?"

The old man pointed down the avenue to an absurdly bright blue road. "Follow the pastel-blue brick road!"

Falcon raised an eyebrow. "Okay..." he decided to follow the path of least resistance, nodding cheerfully. At least until all the nokis started to sing. Then he drew his blaster. "Stop that. Now."

He threw the blaster to Mario, who looked confused as to what to do with it. "If any of them start singing, hurt them with your violence."

"But...we're the heroes..." Mario said, dumbfounded.

"Funny how that works out. Trust me, you'll be doing the galaxy a favour." The captain turned back and shouted into the starship, "Oi! Kirbster! You and the blue thing and the hamster get down here! And tell the monkey and the green hungry lizard to stand point! We're off to see the Lizard!" His lip curled. "The fantastical Lizard of Oz."

The aged noki looked impressed. "Wow! How'd you know that he lived in the amethyst City of Oz?"

Falcon pinched his nose. "Mario? Hurt him with your violence."

* * *

Falcon gazed, open-mouthed, at the immense amethyst spire. "It's so... Prettiful..." His expression became unreadable for his companions when he saw the big sign on the road.

**G'day, Mates! Welcome to the Amethyst City of Oz!**

Is what it said, encased in an immense speech bubble coming from a Pianta in a bush-hat.

Kirby and Ricky looked at one another and shook their heads when Falcon curled up on the road and started to roll back and forth. 'I'd cry, but there aren't enough tears in the world...' The captain thought as he managed to regain his sense of equilibrium, though his lip still wobbled. "Okay, enough cursing the reality that allows such things to be. Let's go get the fuel to get off of this planet, so we can restore the Federation and then destroy this world and all its inhabitants!"

Ricky opened his mouth, as if he was about to say something. Then he closed it, shaking his head again. 'I think Falcon's lost that subtle mental connection between being a hero, and doing heroic deeds.'

* * *

Falcon slammed his fist on the tower's door. "We want to see the Lizard!" He shouted, jiggling the handle again.

A peephole slid open, and a noki looked out. "The Great and Powerful Lizard is not seeing anyone at this moment. Go away." It slammed the porthole shut.

Kirby pushed Falcon out of the way and knocked on the door himself. When the noki opened the porthole and started to shout, "I said go away!"...

There was a suction noise, and then Kirby passed the keys up to the mildly disgusted Falcon. "Here you are, captain, oh, my captain."

"I'll 'captain' you, you over-sized gumball..." Falcon stuffed the key into the lock, grimacing.

* * *

Our team of brave heroes boldly entered the Amethyst spire, weapons and tongues at the ready. Every shadow was a koopa ready to jump, and every rock a goomba. None of them were particularly concerned with why there were rocks in a palace, but they still stuck out like sore-thumbs. Then... they came to an immense room. Purple flames burnt on each side of a gigantic throne, and huge curtains swept through the far distance.

When Falcon stepped in, an immense booming voice came from nowhere. **Who dares disturb the great and powerful Lizard of Oz?**

Falcon coughed. "I am Captain Falcon, a bounty hunter working for the Federation. I have come here to search for rocket fuel."

**FOOL!** The room shook at the loud voice, and suddenly an immense green glowing orb appeared above the throne. **What care I for your pathetic problems? I am the Lizard of Oz!**

Falcon sighed. "We've established that... now, look. We don't want to be here. We just want to get our starship fuel, so we can leave. If this is about us killing that fat guy... what was he called? The Wicked Twat of the East, or something like that..."

The orb flickered. **You killed the Wicked Twit of the East? Then I will of course be glad to help you. The Wicked Twit of the West, his brother, has... what's that rolling ball doing? Stop it! Keep away from that curtain!**

Gooey licked a tongue around a big rope, and then pulled on it, trying to make a bell ring. Or something. It's unlikely that any actual thought processes intruded upon his actions. The results are what mattered. The curtains swept aside, revealing a short koopa in a magician's robes standing on a chair and shouting into a microphone, **Pay no attention to the Magikoopa behind the curtains! Oh, he'll be in trouble for this...**

Kirby, Falcon and Ricky ran over to join Gooey. Kirby shook his fist at the magikoopa. "So, you're the Lizard of Oz... nothing but a two bit charlatan."

The Magikoopa looked around. "I am not a two-bit charlatan. I am at _least _a three-bit charlatan," he hissed, angrily. "Now, if I tell you where to find rocket fuel, will you go away and not tell anyone my secret?"

Ricky nodded, before either Falcon or Kirby could say anything. "Done." He turned around to Falcon and mouthed, 'someone as silly as this is what this planet _deserves_.' Falcon nodded, and kept his silence. The hamster turned back to the Lizard. "Tell us what you know, and we'll go out and tell everyone how magnificent you are... you don't work for Ganon, Bowser, or Mewtwo, right?"

The Lizard looked affronted. "Please. Bowser's the one who put those two twits here in the first place. And neither Ganon nor Mewtwo have passed the time of day with me since I served them spiked punch at the annual villain's ball."

Falcon and Kirby took two steps back, and turned to face each other. "I'm starting to like this guy," Kirby said, bouncing. "Can we keep him?"

Falcon looked thoughtful. "You know that keeping an evil felon's a big responsibility... you'd have to feed him, and water him, and walk him, and keep him from causing global mayhem..." he was cut short by an agonised scream. Falcon and Kirby turned around, dreading what they were about to see.

Ricky lay on the ground, stars spinning around his head. All that was left of the Lizard of Oz was his hat. Gooey, on the other hand, looked amazingly satisfied with himself. "Gooey eat bad-guy! Find shiny metal rock!"

Falcon nodded. "That... that's just great, Gooey. Just...frikkin...great..." he looked like he was once more on the verge of tears, but brightened up when Gooey spat out a yellow pointy rock. "Is that..." he reached forward, and snatched it up. Then screamed as part of the Triforce of Wisdom shook, and then faded into him, its symbol appearing on the back of his right hand. "Well, this alone makes the trip worthwhile. I hope. Now, let's get that rocket fuel... from... um... the wicked twit of the west, I guess... before any of the villains realise what just happened."

"Gooey do good?" The ball asked Kirby, happily.

Kirby looked thoughtful. "I...guess it all balances out... sure. Gooey do good."

* * *

Little did our heroes know that they were being watched from afar by a cackling figure... the Wicked Twit of the West. The twit stood up, and opened a window, before grabbing the magical paw from the desk and shrieking, "FLY, MY PRETTIES! FLY!"

Dozens of winged fiends swooped out of the heavens, heading towards the Amethyst city.

__

_Part 38:_ _The Wicked Twit of The West_

Falcon and his team looked to the horizon, each of them looking through binoculars. "What do you make of it?" Ricky finally asked, shaking his head.

"We're up against a sick mind here, boys." Falcon spat out his gum. "Sick as in, you know, _pathetic_," He shook his head.

"Yeah... but flying _kittens_?" Kirby asked, looking horrified. "Imagine what that'd do to our cred if we won? I can just hear DK saying, 'I am most impressed. You have successfully defeated flying juvenile felines. Perhaps next time, you will bring me, Yoshi and Mario with you, and together we'll stand up against amoebas. Curse their oily unicellular hides!'"

Falcon shook his head, trying to keep from laughing. "Okay, boys... here they come. Get ready..."

* * *

Falcon tried to make himself comfortable in the paws of a dozen flying kittens, grumbling. 'Oh, Marth will have a field day over this... and I can just see Mario and DK's expressions when I tell them we got _beaten_ by flying _kittens._'

* * *

The team was unceremoniously dropped in front of a large, imposing castle. The kittens then soared off to the evil hell from whence they had sprung. They all dusted themselves off, and then pulled out a variety of weapons, ready to take on the master of those kittens of darkness. The doors slowly slid open, and out stepped... "Luigi?" Falcon asked, dumbfounded. "_You're_ the Wicked Twit of the West?"

Luigi shook his head firmly. "Oh, God _no._" He walked down the stairs, grasping Falcon's hand and shaking it vigorously. "Nice to see you again, Cap'n. How have you been?"

Falcon coughed. "Oh, you know... keeping busy, that's all. How have you been?" He coughed, and pointed to his 'crew'. "Oh, right. These are my fellow heroes. You remember Kirby, of course... oh, and the blue blob is Gooey, and the hamster is Ricky."

"Charmed to meet you, I'm sure. And nice to see you again." Luigi inspected his nails, and then looked up again. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't answer your question. I've been doing fine. You know... ruling the Mushroom Kingdom, being Bowser's 2IC... can't complain, can't complain." He released Falcon's hand, and stepped back. "How's my brother been?"

"Oh, he's doing well... I'll tell him you asked. What about Peach?" Falcon was amazed at how nicely this conversation was going. "Boy... I'm relieved to know _you_ weren't behind those kittens from hell."

Luigi nodded, and gave a big smile. "Peach is fine... she's already had half the guards of her tower room fired for not matching her eyes, if you can believe that." He shrugged. "Unfortunately, you won't be getting the chance to see Mario... you know, me having to kill you and all... sorry about that."

Falcon shrugged. "Eh. I had a good run. But before we have a climactic battle scene and all that... who _was_ responsible for those flying kittens?"

Before Luigi got a chance to answer, a hideous vision leapt down the stairs.

Imagine, if you will, a tall, lanky man with a moustache and a purple cap with an upside down 'L' on it. Then put that man in a purple dominatrix outfit. A very skimpy dominatrix outfit.

Falcon shrieked and curled up into a little ball. "The visor! It does nothing!" The three other heroes all whimpered, stunned into paralysis. Falcon started to suck his thumb. He'd faced down Keller, Veran, Luigi... dealt with Goroh and other intergalactic baddies... and never before had he been so scared.

Luigi, admirably, controlled himself. "Waluigi... what did I tell you about wearing that outfit? It's not appropriate."

Waluigi made a 'hurrumph' sound. "You just can't accept that times are changing. You can't keep me down! I have feelings!"

Luigi sighed. "Look, fine... just... kill them and put them out of their misery. Okay?" He shuddered slightly as Waluigi pulled a whip out of 'nowhere' and stepped past him.

Falcon thrust his hand up to protect himself, and suddenly felt a burning sensation in his wrist. The triforce-piece was glowing with a blinding light, right into Waluigi's eyes. The 'dominatrix' shrieked, throwing the rope aside. He started to run around in circles.

"I'm blind! I'm blind!" Waluigi tripped over one of the bridge's railings. "Wha? NOOOOOOOOO!"

Luigi looked out over the bridge's sides, and shook his head. Turning back to Falcon, he looked incredibly foolish. "Oh, how dreadfully embarrassing... I'm so sorry you had to see that..." he shuddered. "I won't talk, if you won't."

Falcon nodded. "Deal." They both shook hands. "So, you _won't_ be killing us?"

Luigi shuddered and shook his head. "I'm going to go have a shower. Then a bath. Then a shower again. Sorry, can't fit you in."

Falcon nodded. "Okay... you wouldn't happen to have any starship fuel, would you? And that sounds like a nice idea... after I wash my eyes out with soap."

* * *

Captain Douglas Falcon of the Federation's Freedom Fighters stood on the bridge of his starship, watching the banana-shaped world fly off in the distance. He turned to his crew, and gave a sharp salute, which they all returned. "Let us never speak of this world again."

The other heroes nodded as one.

"Still, we got a triforce piece... I'd count that to be some sort of success. Now, set a course for the Harvest Moon!"

Mario fiddled with some dials. "Aye-aye, sir!"

__

_Part 38b: Somewhere in the depths of space..._

Captain Falcon sighed, and pinched his nose again. "So... you don't know where the Harvest Moon is. And you've been navigating primarily by luck."

Mario shook his head. "Sorry, Captain."

"Just super."

_**I would like to point out that this chapter is a work of humour, in order to bring back a touch of lightness to a story which will shortly get very dark indeed, and that I am in no way 'homophobic'. I checked with a 'gay' friend of mine, and he found the sequence amusing. Also, he himself said that considering just who it is... he would also react very much like Captain Falcon. Please direct all flames on that subject to my e-mail, where I will be able to deal with each of you on a one-to-one basis. **_

_**That aside, I'd like to thank all of my loyal fans for being so patient. And, after much consultation with a variety of focus groups, I can solemnly promise that the next chapter, which should be up within the week, will contain something that many of you have been clamouring for.**_

_**Marth vs. Keller. One stock bout. Boo-yah. **_


	20. Darkness

**_Well, it's nice to be back to being Slywolf again. That's all I have to say. This chapter's introduction, therefore, will be done through an interpretive dance._**

****

**_Slywolf does something very complicated involving two sporks, a small chimpanzee, and the cast of Riverdance._**

****

**Chapter 20: Darkness**

_Part 39:_ _Darkness Ascendant_

The transport landed silently in the jungle, all lights dimmed. On board, Marth, Fox, and Lycis checked their weapons. Samus flipped some switches, and the windows slid open, revealing a landscape softly watered by a light rain. She turned to Marth, and gestured him to the side. "I wish you'd let me come with you, Marth," she whispered, her visor sliding up. "I don't trust Lycis."

Marth shook his head. "Samus, there's nothing to distrust. You'll be far more useful here, guarding our exit route." He looked out at the jungle, and gave a half-shrug. "You're the only one of us capable of flying this transport, and you're the only one of us capable of working the tel-array."

The bounty-huntress sighed. "Okay. But I know the Chozo, and I know the space-pirates. There's no telling what traps the Chozo might have set before they abandoned this world, and there's no telling what the space pirates have created to supplement those traps."

Marth shook his head one more time, clearly not about to be swayed. "We need you working the array so you can keep us informed about enemy activity."

Samus nodded, still not happy. Her visor closed once more, and she walked off unhappily.

Fox and Lycis scanned the forest, neither of them speaking. McCloud had Crystal's staff strapped to his back, and his own pistol at his side. Lycis was holding his broadsword in hand, but seemed relaxed.

Marth walked right past them, and up an ancient path. "Come on. The triforce piece is up there."

Fox grunted. "How do you know?"

Marth turned and shrugged. "I just do."

Grimacing, Fox said, "Ah, great. That means it _must_ be up there."

Lycis spat. "Come on, mercenary. Where's your sense of adventure?"

"Securely locked in the same box I put my sense of altruism in."

The bulky warrior laughed, and slapped the vulpine pilot on the back. "Well, unlock it! There will be plenty of treasure up there, I'm sure."

Fox sighed. "Coming..."

The three heroes walked along the path, a solid wall of armour against anything approaching them. That didn't stop the ambush. All of a sudden, the bush around them became alive with dozens of screaming insect-like space-pirates, clawing and blasting at the trio.

They learned, and learned painfully, that fancy molecular armour is of no use against brute strength and an exceedingly heavy broadsword. Lycis casually spun his blade, and five of the pirates were cut down at once. In the space of a few minutes, all the pirates had been eliminated, and rich red blood heavily stained the ground. Marth stared at the Master Sword, at its sharp glow in the darkness of the jungle. It had been in no way affected by the battle, not stained or chipped. Indeed, it seemed to glow even stronger than it had prior to the ambush.

The King had a strange feeling that the blade hungered for the blood of yet more evil. Sheathing it, Marth looked around. Fox was inspecting one of the fallen pirate's weapons curiously. With a shrug, he used his edged staff to slice it from the pirate's hand and then placed it in his pack. "Hey, what are we waiting for? Let's get up to that shrine."

Lycis was staring into space, as if he was seeing something else. Marth knew he was looking past the pirates, and across the years, to a place and time that now no longer existed.

He watched the older man stand up, as he shook his head. "Come, mercenary, Your Highness. We have much ground to cover, I am sure."

The trio once more set off, hiking up the path. They did not know what would come.

But they were sure they would be ready for it.

Fox stared up at the building. It was an ancient shrine, he was sure of it. But there was something about it. The angles... They didn't look _right._ There were curves and lines, shapes an Euclid couldn't name. But what was worse was the almost _sickening_ organic look of the building. As if it had grown, instead of been built. He had a strange thought that, while the Chozo may have used this building, they had had no hand in its creation. "Are you sure that the Triforce is in there?" He asked.

Marth nodded, curtly. "It is. I can feel it now... It's calling to me."

Fox waved his hand vaguely. "Well, yeah... But this seems... there was only that one ambush as we came up the path."

"The mercenary is right, Your Highness. This was far too easy."

Marth ignored them both. He walked up to the entrance portal, and ran his hand along the pillars on either side. "The feeling is strong..." he murmured.

Fox and Lycis eyed one another. The knight nodded. "I will follow immediately after the Prince. You will bring up the rear and provide covering fire and communication with Miss Aran."

Fox nodded, and then had to run to catch up. Marth was already inside the shrine. Lycis walked through the door after him, and Fox… pulled up short. A stone block had suddenly fallen, separating him from his companions. "Oh, crap…"

Marth looked around the room, waiting for his eyes to adjust. He gasped in surprise when he saw the glowing object on an abandoned altar. "Lycis! The triforce piece… it's just… Lycis?" He asked, slowly.

Had that been a thump coming from behind him? Dreading what he was about to see, the King turned around, and made the triangle symbol over his heart. "Gods and Goddesses preserve us…" he said, softly. The knight lay on the ground, dead from an immense hole in his breast. His expression didn't even register surprise. "I… I failed him again…" 

"Don't blame yourself, Marth…" a cold, familiar voice echoed from the shadows of the room. "There was nothing you could have done to save him."

Marth looked nervously around the room, searching for his enemy. The voice came again from behind him. "Though, that's been happening a-lot lately, hasn't it…?" He spun around, but there was nothing there. The voice came from the other side now. "Your friends… dying or betraying you… and just think. If you hadn't come to this place, he would still be alive now…"

Marth started to sink to the ground, the room seeming to spin around him. "No… no…"

That cold, emotionless voice came from the shadows once more. "Yes… _yes_… you failed again, Marth. You couldn't protect him. Just like you couldn't protect your beloved wife and daughter… you're a failure. You don't belong here! You don't deserve the triforce! You deserve nothing!"

Marth growled, and pulled himself up. "I will not let him die in vain…" He shook his head, shaking away the thoughts that clouded his mind. There would be time to mourn Lycis later… now, he had to ensure that his death had been for a cause. He reached out for the Triforce-piece on the altar. He suddenly hit something solid. Something was around the triforce, in the way. "What…?"

The shadows coalesced in a corner of the room. "Not so fast, my old friend," the figure said, stepping from the darkness. "We have…unfinished business. And as Ganondorf's Lieutenant, I claim that piece, and all of the Triforce of Wisdom, in the name of His Majesty." He drew his sword, a sword that sucked in the remaining light. "If you want it, you have to get through me."

Marth turned around, slowly. His eyes flickered with a cold anger. "So be it, _Link_." The King of Hyrule drew the Master Sword, and narrowed his eyes as it burst into full-glow. "So be it."

_Part 40: Darkness Triumphant_

Keller shook his head. "Still trying to goad me with that name? Still believe that's who I am?" He took a step forward, and the wind of lost years blew after him as he took step by heavy step towards his enemy, Soulblighter in front of him. "I am far stronger now than I ever was. And if you think appealing to our old friendship will save you…"

Marth interrupted. "No. No I don't. Because we were never friends. The man I knew is dead. And if you think that just because you have his body I'll shy from destroying you, you have another thing coming."

The vampire chuckled. "Ah, Marth… still insisting this is all a dream… something you can wake up from? Well… if this is a dream, then it's a nightmare…" Keller held his sword up and pointed it at Marth's neck. "You can not win this fight."

Marth knocked Soulblighter aside with the Master Sword. "If you want to fight me, then stop toying and let's do this."

"So be it." Keller faded out of sight, suddenly.

And then sprang at Marth from behind, sword raised. Marth moved quickly, rolling to the ground and spinning to face his assailant before charging at him, sword blazing. Keller sidestepped, shaking his head. "You'll have to do better than that, Marth old-boy. You'll have to do _much_ better than that."

Marth sliced his sword around again, trying to get him. "Stop talking and fight!" He roared, angrily.

Keller wasn't there any more. He was next to Marth, just watching through his helmet. "You don't understand…"

Marth lashed out once more, his sword making a keening sound as he stabbed towards the vampire.

Who had appeared behind him. "This isn't the tournament any more, old friend."

And so the strange battle continued. Marth used all his skill, but it was never enough. Keller was never there. He was never in range. He was always just out of reach, or to the side. His defences were _always_ ready. Marth was growing more and more angry. "Damn it, Keller… STAND AND FIGHT ME!"

There was a hiss of drawn steel from behind him, and then Marth felt a heat in his side. He crumpled to the ground, unable to do anything as Keller stood over him and put his dagger away, shaking his head. "Like I said… _this isn't the tournament anymore, Marth._ This is _real_. The stakes are high. The stakes are life, the universe…" The vampire raised his helmet, and looked down at him with those fiery red orbs, "and everything."

"Why didn't you use your sword…?" Marth whispered, feeling his life's blood run out.

"_Because you weren't worth it_," Keller said the sentence as simple fact. "You weren't worth the energy it took to _stab_ _you_." He put a hand out, and lifted it into the air. Marth felt himself rise up, and move erect so he was meeting Keller's eyes with his own.

Marth was past caring… he was feeling his life leave him, and he couldn't care about anything more. Keller, however, had other plans. "I could let you die," he murmured, "but I'd prefer for you to live. I want you to live the rest of your miserable life knowing that when it came to it, you failed when you most needed to succeed. Failed the galaxy, failed yourself. Failed, like you failed Lycis. Like you failed Roy. Like you failed Zelda. And like you failed _me._"

Marth felt the heat in his side slowly retreat, his senses slowly returning. With them came the shame, the agony of knowing that Keller was right. "No…" The vampire snapped his fingers, and he fell to the ground, unable to move, just to watch as Keller slowly reached out for the Triforce-piece. And grabbed it. "No!" There was a moment when the universe screamed in agony, and then the golden object flashed red, and was gone. "NOOOOO!"

Keller turned back to face Marth and gave a mocking salute. "Farewell, enemy mine… perhaps next time we meet you'll be worth killing." And he stepped back into the shadows, and was gone.

"No…" Marth grabbed at the ground underneath him, and started to cry. He didn't see the door slide open, didn't hear Fox run in and curse, or, later, feel Samus pick him up and carry him back to the ship. All he could here were Keller's words to him, those terrible, true words. 'I failed… I failed them all…"

**__**

**_In our next exciting adventure… well, you'll just have to wait, won't you? _**

****

**_Please Review._**


	21. Life

_**It is truly amazing. Three chapters in as many weeks! W00T! Go Slywolf!**_

**Chapter 21: Life**

_Part 41: Hope_

The wind howled now, and the snow blew harshly into their faces. Ness no longer knew where he was, what he was doing. Saria had just opened up a door in the forest, some old relic of an ancient civilisation, and they had fallen through. She hadn't told him what they were looking for, just begged him to trust her.

And he couldn't help but trust the girl he loved. "Saria?" Ness asked, softly. "Are you..." he turned around, and gasped in alarm.

She had fallen to the ground, her skin almost blue with cold. "Can't... Can't go on... So... So cold..." she shivered, curling up.

Ness forgot his own discomfort, and raced to her side, picking her up and cradling her against him. Covering her from above, he began to push through the storm, hoping against hope that he would make it to those distant hills. And that he would be able to find a shelter.

* * *

Ness pulled himself into the cave, gasping in relief as he put Saria down. He shivered, still feeling a chill and knowing he had to find some way to keep the cold out. The boy looked around, searching for something that was in sufficient qualities to keep the wind out.

He looked at the snow, and slowly remembered what he had been told, long before this nightmare had begun...

* * *

_Ness ducked as Popo threw the snowball, and ran back, trying to get back to his own stockpile. Not paying any attention to where he was going, he suddenly crashed into a pair of legs. "Whoops..."_

_"Well. Will you look at that? A walking potato." Link growled, returning to his work. "Come on, Roy... Put some back into it..."_

_Roy grimaced, and lifted the immense ice-block up and onto its companion. "Boy, I love visiting the mountains... Don't you, Marth?"_

_Marth shoved another block in place. "Yep... And after we get this done, we'll be nice and warm in between ski-runs. Shouldn't take us more than twenty minutes, what with our strength and that."_

_Ness coughed. "What do you mean, warm?"_

_"If we keep the cold air out," Roy replied, tolerantly, "than we'll be comfortable even if the snow is mildly cold. Besides, we'll be clearing the floor of sn...oh crud. We should have done that first..."_

_Link and Marth both fell down._

* * *

Ness nodded, and started to use his powers to pile snow in front of the cave's entrance. He patted it down, and then set up a closed entrance of lightly packed snow, before turning to face Saria. "Saria?" He asked, worried.

Her eyes were open, but she wasn't seeing anything. He ran to her side and desperately checked for a pulse, even going so far as to put his head to her breast briefly to listen for a heart-beat. He sighed in relief when he finally got a weak beat, and then collapsed in thought.

He knew he had to dry her and get her warm, but he didn't know how. Or, rather, he did _know_, it was just difficult to work up the courage to _do_. Finally, though, he slowly reached forward and started to untie her tunic.

Being who he was, he did his best to look away, tried to keep his eyes averted. But Ness couldn't manage it. He slowly became lost in her curves, his eyes tracing her simple beauty. 'I am going to be in so much trouble...' he thought, soberly, as he started a fire and placed her clothes around it.

Slowly, he started to remove his own clothes, stripping down to his fortunately dry boxers. 'If these were wet I'd be in even more trouble...' the boy thought, knowing that he wouldn't have the nerve to remove them.

Ness pulled the sleeping bag out of his sack, and lay it on the ground before picking up Saria and placing her in its warm confines. Slowly, carefully, he lay down next to her and zipped the sleeping bag up, pulling her close to him and praying that some warmth transferred into the girl.

Otherwise, he would never be able to justify in his own mind the situation he was now in, or the enjoyment a treacherous part of his mind was having.

* * *

Saria slowly woke up. She couldn't remember anything that had happened since she had collapsed. She didn't know why she was warm, didn't know where she was... And... She shrieked when she felt something around her waist tighten slightly, and painfully forced her eyes to open. 'I must have...faint...'

She was staring right into Ness's sleepy eyes, which blinked once or twice before he pulled back, abruptly, to a sitting position. The girl felt the object around her waist withdraw, rapidly, and she realised that he had been holding her. "Ness...?" Saria asked, slowly sitting up. "What happened...?"

"You... You were blue, and your skin was cold, and I... You're..." Ness closed his eyes and looked away quickly. "I didn't look..."

Saria looked down, and almost shrieked again when she saw that she was naked. That moment passed the second she reached across and touched Ness's mind with her own. What she found made her smile, at the sheer honesty, the regret. "You did. And you enjoyed it. But... The important thing is you _tried._"

Ness shivered. "I'm sorry...really..."

Their eyes slowly moved to meet each other, and they stared at one another for almost a minute before Saria whispered, "Don't be...", reaching out and pulling him back towards her. "I'm not..."

Ness leaned forward to kiss her, and when he pulled back, he found her lips were still on his. "I love you, Saria..." he whispered, softly.

Saria tilted her head on its side, a variety of answers coming to her, before she finally settled on, "Thank you..." they drew closer together, neither of them knowing why this was happening, but neither wanting to stop.

And sometimes, love does come at first sight. Sometimes, something just happens that makes it _right_, that makes it _necessary._

And sometimes, love is what you need to keep going.

Almost an hour later, Saria slept again, curled up against the bo...the _man_ she loved. Her smile was satisfied, and her dreams were full of hope.

_Part 22: Despair_

Ash and Misty looked around the corner, both of them nodding to the other before slowly stepping across the hallway. Neither of them spoke. Ash pulled open the door, and nodded.

Jessie, James, and Meowth walked through, followed by Brock. "Thanks, twerps..." James said. "Now, come on... The lab is this way."

Brock reached out to hand Misty her Togepi back. She waved her hand, silently. The little pokemon was happily asleep in Brock's arms.

* * *

Ash looked down the stairs, his eyes wide. "I never thought..." huge machines loomed in the distance, performing unknown work. And overhead, through it all, the unknown twisted and turned.

Misty pulled him down when a voice came from the darkness below. "Another failure, Giovanni... kill the pikachu... Wait. I...I can sense the piece our master's want... It's right above us..."

Giovanni's voice cut from the shadows. "Be silent, witch... There is no one there..."

"I can feel it..." there was the sound of running feet. Our heroes, and Team Rocket, froze.

Then Togepi squealed, and the passageway collapsed, sending our heroes flying. Flying into nothingness... Except for Brock.

* * *

Misty clutched her egg-pokemon to her, shuddering. The area around them seemed pleasant enough, but...

Ash looked around. "What happened to Brock?" He felt something tug at his sleeve, and looked down to see Pikachu. He gasped in relief.

Jessie and James, though, were staring at a scene that was taking place on a smoky glass... Before it blinked out.

* * *

Veran looked down at Brock, contemptuosly. "Hrmm..." she simply snapped her fingers, and grew into an immense spider. "Dinner time..."

_**Finally! I no longer have the Pokemon crew hanging over me. It was vaguely unsatisfying, that second part, especially when compared to the first, but don't worry! From now on, I'll be keeping things at a near fever height of quality, plot-wise and otherwise. **_


	22. Big Cold Mountain

**Chapter 24: Big Cold Mountain**

_Part 47: Ice Climber Escapades_

Saria groaned in exasperation. "We're lost, Ness." she said, firmly. "Not only are we lost, but we are going in circles."

"What makes you say that?" Ness asked, looking around.

"Well, the fact that we've been walking for an hour and we just arrived back at the cave we had left this morning was a tip off." Saria answered, indicating the snow cave.

Ness groaned and collapsed back. "I see." he said, frowning. "We're going to die, aren't we?"

"What we need are experts." the young woman said. "People who know this area like the back of their hands."

"Yeah, but where are we going to find _anyone?_ Let alone experts!"

"Look no further!" Came the voice from above. "For we are... Ice Climbers!" A blue figure stood tall against the ice, on top of a stool, holding a flag on which was inscribed 'Ice Climbers Forever!'

'Talk about Deus ex Machina," Ness thought, bitterly. But his attention was redrawn to the blue figure. "Popo?"

"Ah ha!" Popo (for it was indeed he) exclaimed. "I know that voice!" the Ice Climber leapt down from his perch and ran to Ness. "Good old Smedley! I'd recognise you anywhere!"

Ness frowned slightly and looked over to Saria, who was trying not to laugh. Seeing no help there, the young man coughed and replied, "Actually, my name is..."

"Ness, right?" another voice said, as a pink figure came over the hill. "Popo, you remember Ness... Right?"

"Oh yeah! We met him at the thing, Nana! And there was this thing, and then some thing happened, and then... You're the guy who does things!" Popo nodded in recognition and eagerly clasped Ness's hand and shook it repeatedly. "Good ol' Mess!"

Saria finally managed to gain control of her laughter. "Friends of yours, Ness?" her eyes caught Nana's and a spark of mutual resignation filtered between them.

Once he had disengaged himself from Popo's grasp, Ness nodded. "The guy in blue is named Popo, and the girl in pink is named Nana."

Popo ran back to Nana and bowed. "And together, we form that mischievous duo of intense icy power, the Ice Climbers!" he smacked his hand into Nana's. "Ice Twin Powers, Activate!"

Nana stared at him for a few seconds. "What in the name of all that is holy do you think you're doing?" she finally asked, shaking him off. The young woman turned and faced Ness, clearly about to apologise.

Popo, however, had turned to Saria. "And who is this lovely young lady?"

Saria smiled a bit hesitantly, and answered, "My name is Saria..."

But Popo wasn't paying attention. "Ah! I haven't introduced myself! I am Popo P. Poffington, of the Jaribaya Poffingtons." He bowed repeatedly.

Ness quickly intervened, seeing a cataclysm building. "Where is Jarabaya?"

Nana answered for Popo, who was now paying very close attention to a shiny beetle on a tree branch. "It's on a distant plateau, far from this mountain. We got here on our spaceship."

"You have a spaceship?" Ness blinked, a plan coming to him. "That's a miracle!"

"_Had_ a spaceship. We can't get back into it because of the falcon. But now that you're here, perhaps we have a chance!" Nana smiled triumphantly. "And if you help us, we'll take you anywhere you want to go! Right, Popo?"

Popo held out his hand to the beetle. "Beetle...come here Mr. Beetle...beeeeetle..." he looked up and stared at Saria, Ness, and Nana again. "Sorry, who are you again?"

"He agrees too." Nana nodded. "Popo, we need to start looking for the ship."

"Oh, the Lollipop!" Popo smiled and pointed up the mountain. "Onwards, Smedley, Jane, and Nana! I shall lead you to the ship!" He turned, and walked into the tree. After his friends had extricated him, he walked around and started up the hill. "Excelsior! Come, Smedley! Let us beat a path for the lovely ladies!"

Ness ran after him, angrily shouting, "My name is Ness!" Soon, they vanished over the hill.

Saria and Nana took one look at each other, shook their heads, and followed at a sedate pace.

"Remind me, Popo." Nana said, two hours later. "How was us hitting the polar bear with a rock going to solve our problems?" she, like the others, was currently dangling from a rope dangling on the ceiling, while underneath them a very angry polar bear in Hawaiian shorts was looking through a recipe book, his sunglasses on his forehead.

* * *

We don't have _time_ to discuss your failings, Nana." Popo yawned. "Right now, our key priority must be to escape from these ropes."

Ness looked over at Saria. "Saria, can you magic us free?"

She frowned. "Ummm...I do forest magic, Ness. Are we _in_ a forest right now? How about your psychic power?"

"I'd need to be able to concentrate. Right now, I'm upside-down and about to be eaten by a bear wearing ugly shorts. That's _not_ conducive to concentration."

"Hey!" said bear snapped, revealing rows and rows of pointy teeth. "Do I insult your dress-sense?"

"Sorry, Mr. Bear."

"And who said I was going to eat you? I never said I was going to eat you!"

"So, what are you going to do with us?" Nana asked, giving up on trying to kill Popo with a glare.

"Well, as a matter of fact, I _am_ going to eat you. But I hate how you automatically assumed..." fortunately, they never found out what they had assumed, because then the mountain exploded.

"Does that happen often around here?" Saria asked Popo as they flew through the air.

"You mean, random events that make you feel like some pawn in a giant, terrible game? Or characters in a story?"

"Yes!"

"Oh, sure... All the time!" Popo smiled and looked down. "Hey, I can see our cave from here!" he waved as they passed, earning another thwack from Nana for his troubles.

* * *

This was the day of the century for the Yetis. Today, a new leader had arisen from the masses, and been declared King of Snow. The candidate climbed up the long ice stairs to the ancient podium, from which he would give his first speech.

He reached the top, adjusted his glasses, and began to speak. "My people! I thank you for your trust in me! As your King, I will restore the ancient rites that have fallen into decay. At the same time, I will lead you into the future! It is important that now you all listen to me, for my plan shall save us..."

They never found out what it was, because there was a rapid succession of splats. Popo pulled himself out of the hole. "And that was one of my better landings, eh, Smedley?"

Ness popped out of the hole, and sighed. "Right, Popo..." he said, deciding that there were some battles he wasn't going to win. "Saria?" he bent over and helped her up as Nana leapt up and looked around.

"Ich. There was a flattened fur-ball in there." Saria sighed and clung against Ness, not because she needed comfort, but simply because she liked the feeling.

Then all of our heroes suddenly became aware of a drastic drop in the already frigid temperature. The four of them spun around, and coughed. "Um. Hi?"

Around them, the Yetis had started to slam their braincells together and reach for their spears. Ness coughed. "Shall we run for our lives?"

"Oh yes, lets."

"Could be advisable..."

"What ho, Smedley!"

"Okay, everyone run." And so they did.

_**Oh, what adventures they had! What mighty feats they performed! If only we could tell you of them! Sadly, our space is unfortunately limited and so we must now skip forward a little...**_

_  
Part 48: Enter the Falcon_

Ness sighed as he climbed up the rock, and then reached up to take hold of another. Only to miss it entirely and fall flat on his face in the snow. He spat out the frost and looked around him. "We made it!"

Saria climbed up next to him and looked around, taking shallow breaths. She flipped back her green hair and then jumped forward, pinning him to the ground again and kissing him repeatedly. "We did it!"

Nana and Popo followed, cursing. Nana looked around, a confused smile on her face. "We did, but where's our ship? Popo!"

The blue ice-climber pulled up and shrugged. "Obviously this is the wrong mountain." he looked around. "What a ghastly place."

Nana stared at him in shock. "You mean...this mountain, the mountain we've been climbing for nearly _three years,_ is the _wrong mountain_!"

"Yep."

"I am going to laugh long and hard when I finally kill you." she tackled him and wrapped her hands around his neck. "DIE DIE DIE!"

Ness put his hand on her arm and shook his head firmly. "Nana? As much as I would _love_ to let you kill Popo, I'm afraid that we have bigger problems."

"Oh?"

Ness pointed behind her, to where Saria was already staring at a giant bird. He coughed. "The falcon?"

It was a massive bird, very impressive if you looked at it from a safe distance. Big and black and scary, it loomed large as it beat its wings slowly, allowing it to land. "Caw?"

"EEK!" Nana shrieked. "The Falcon! WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!"

Popo coughed. "Actually, it looks to be more a member of the corvid family if you look at it. It's certainly not a raptor. Maybe we should call it 'The Raven'." he chuckled drily. "I know a poem about Ravens, you know..."

Nana kept shrieking. "Who cares what it is! It's a giant scary bird and it's going to kill us!"

Ness ran to hug Saria. "Don't worry, I'll protect you!" he said, his voice shaking with fear.

She clung to him. "I want you to hear this before we die, Ness. I love you. I love you so much..." she kissed him.

"I...I love you too..."

The bird looked at them all and came to a decision. It lunged forward, and they could feel its breath as it reached down to peck them.

Then, all of a sudden, there was a splatting sound. And a starship was on top of its skull. The starship's door opened up and...

"Goddamn it Mario!" Captain Falcon said as he stepped off the ship and inspected the dead bird. "Stop landing on soft squishy things! I just got the paint fixed from that Twit fellow!"

"Falcon!" Ness shouted, disbelievingly. "Thank God!"

"Oh. Hello, Ness, Saria... Oh, and Popo and Nana too, I see. How are all of you?"

"Well, we're..."

"Glad to hear it. Come on, get on board, all four of you. The kettle's boiling and you're letting all the heat out."

"Yes, of course." Ness looked around at all of his companions and then back up at Falcon. It was _obviously_ a Deus Ex Machina of some kind. But right now, he'd go with Keller himself if he thought there was a chance of a hot drink in his future. "Let's go."


End file.
